Daily Devotion With Pastor Dan – October 6th, 2020
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me. Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence. I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! (Psalm 27:7-14)
David reveals to us his desires of God in this Psalm. His desire is to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life, and to behold the LORD’S beauty, and to inquire of Him in His temple. In doing so, he would offer the sacrifices of joy, and the singing of praises to Him. Just think of the many things we ought to be joyful about before the LORD, the things we ought to be singing praises about (Psalm 21:13) (Psalm 89:5-7) (Psalm 71:1-8).
Notice, the next desire David had of the LORD, (27:7)….Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. What is the mercy of God? It is God’s infinite, inexhaustible power to be compassionate towards us. At least that is one way to define it. His word tells us in (1 Chronicles 16:34)….Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. His mercy towards us is great – (Psalm 103:1-10). His mercy towards us is renewed every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Notice, that it was in David’s heart (his desire) to seek the face of the LORD, that is, to have fellowship with Him. Seeking God in fellowship should be one of our main priorities everyday (Matthew 6:25-33). But so often it isn’t, other things become our priority in life, things that really only take our time and hearts away from God. Seeking God’s face needs to be the continuous priority for every Christian and the issue of our heart’s desire as His word shows us (Psalm 27:8).
The scriptures are full of promises for those who seek God. What does seeking God then lead to?
- A nations forgiveness – (2 Chronicles 7:12-14)
- Blessing – (Psalm 119:2)
- Wisdom and understanding – (Proverbs 28:5)
What is it that stops us from seeking God? Here are a couple of hindrances we might face
- Pride – (Psalm 10:4)
- Trusting others rather than God – (Isaiah 31:1)
d. But what does that mean practically? Both the Old and New Testaments say it is a “setting of the mind and heart” on God (1 Chronicles 22:19) (Colossians 3:1-2). It is a conscious effort on our part, and yet the effort (desire) to seek God is a gift from God (2 Thessalonians 3:5).
The great promise to those who seek (diligently seek) the Lord (by faith) is that He will reward them (Hebrews 11:6). But listen, the LORD Himself is our greatest reward, because when we have Him, we have everything. But one of the hardest things to do it seems, is to wait on the LORD when everything seems to be going against you. Waiting on Him with the hope of seeing the goodness of God (27:13). If we would learn to just trust God, to wait on Him we would receive great strength from Him. The Bible speaks often about the importance of waiting on God….
- (Psalms 25:5)….Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
- (Psalms 40:1)….I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
- (Psalms 62:1)….Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
- (Psalms 123:2)….Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
- (Psalms 130:5)….I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
- (Isaiah 40:31)….But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
- (Micah 7:7)….Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
- (2 Thessalonians 3:5)….And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
What does it mean to wait on God? The Hebrew word translated, wait, means to entrench. God strengthens him that entrenches himself in Him. The idea of waiting for God here is that of digging ourselves in to God. There are times when the only hope we have, the only solution to our situation, the only cure for our condition…is to wait on God.