Black and white images streamed through
my head as I tried to remember every detail of what had flashed on the screen
the previous day. The hand I would one
day hold while crossing the street, the foot that I would tickle and the little
back I would pat: these were all visions that I eagerly anticipated. As
telling as that moment was and as fortunate as I felt to have had it, something was
missing. I began to bite my lower lip as
I always do when I get impatient but suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by
a smiling nurse calling my name. Pleased
I wouldn’t have to clock anymore time in my obstetrician’s waiting room for the
week, I followed her to the ultrasound room. I was about to see the missing piece of my
puzzle!
The day before, Jeremy and I had
gone to get my 20-week ultrasound to find out the gender of the baby. As rookie parents, we were so very relieved
to hear the nurse finally tell us that everything looked as it should and our
baby was healthy. Then came the moment
of truth that we had been waiting for. To
our surprise, she told us our baby was actually a “she”! For some reason, we thought Morgan was going
to be a little boy but of course we were overjoyed that in fact we I
would give birth to a baby girl. Of
course, this put a kink in my plans for our son to become the next “Billy Graham”
but of course God has even better plans ahead my Morgan.
As much as we had enjoyed seeing
our little girl for the first time, she would never turn her little head to the
correct angle to catch a glimpse of her face.
I told Jeremy how frustrated I was about missing this important “detail”. So, my impatience got the best of me and I
made another ultrasound appointment for the next day. This time I was determined to see my
daughter’s face for the first time.
___________________
In Psalm 27, David writes: “You
have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says
to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek’.” Earlier
in verse 4, he writes “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek:
that I will dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze
upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”
I always wondered why David used the word
“face” instead of just referring to the Father directly or to another part of
God like his “hand”. Why is it so important
to see his face specifically? The answer
came to me as I sat in that waiting room.
I kept wondering why I was so obsessed with seeing the face of my little
girl. I certainly wouldn’t have made
another appointment if I hadn’t seen her foot or an arm. However, I realized
it’s a person’s face that makes them uniquely special and different from any
other individual. One notices new
characteristics about someone as time is spent in their presence appreciating
their very countenance. Their specific
attributes are often never detected upon first glance, but are often observed
as their face becomes more familiar. In
Psalm 27, God is telling David to seek His character and favor – to seek the
very essence of who God is. There is no
fault in seeking God’s hand by seeking His blessings or direction, but here God
wants David to specifically seek His face, to gaze up the beauty of His Godness. To seek God’s face means to immerse oneself
in His character and to meditate on His precepts.
John 14:21 says “Whoever has my
commands and obeys them, He is the one who loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I too will love Him and show myself to Him.” In other words, if we love God, we spend time
with him and in turn God reveals more and more of Himself to us. God must reveal himself if people are to see
his face. In Job 34:29, the Greek word
for “revelation” literally means “removing a veil from one’s face”.[1]
That’s why it is so vital to make time to sit in His presence and
mediate upon His Word. Time with God
can’t be rushed like every other aspect in our lives. When we are in a hurry, our minds flutter
back and forth between God and the tasks on our “To Do” list. However, God wants us to push back the
demands of life to create time to rest with Him. He demands this time of focused attention to
bless, strengthen and equip us for what is ahead.2 There
is no wiser investment than making a daily appointment to spend time with God. He faithfully rewards those who seek Him by
showing them more and more of His character.
__________________
The second ultrasound appointment
proved that Morgan once again was not in the mood to get her picture taken. She seemed to squirm in every possible
direction but she wouldn’t lift up her head towards the “camera”. The nurse said “Well, it looks like we just
aren’t going to see her face until she is born.” It was right then that Morgan happened to
lift her head up suddenly in time for the nurse to snap the picture she
needed. Her timing was perfect and so
was what I saw. I realized I was looking
at the face I would stare into for the rest of my days. It was my first glance of what would turn
into years of long gazes as I would see how God would grow her into the woman
He wants her to be.
I’m sure to some that the
ultrasound picture was unrecognizable.
However, as I have looked at this face over the last 18 months, it
becomes clearer to me who my daughter is – a true blessing from our
Creator. The same can be said about
gazing upon the face of God. Although
our first glance might not have been so clear, we grow so much closer to the
One who knows us better than we know ourselves.
The Father of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob is the same yesterday, today and forever and He has immeasurable
blessings for His children. He wants
them to seek a relationship with Him by making a regular appointment to seek
His Face.
[1]
Manser, M. H. (1999). Zondervan
Dictionary of Bible Themes. The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical
Studies. Grand Rapids, MI: ZondervanPublishingHouse.
2 Young, Sarah. (2010), Jesus
Calling, Grand Rapids, MI: Thomas Nelson, May 30.
