Scripture: Psalm 27 v 4 - 8: "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.
7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek."
King David knew the secret to receiving favour from God, to being a man after God's own heart. From our earliest encounter with the 17 year old shepherd, he became a person of interest.
Before he removed the head of the giant Goliath, David lived a humble and godly life. His one desire was to seek after the Lord so that he may dwell in His house eternally. When the Lord said the way was to seek His face, David responded, Thy face, Lord, will I seek!
This response should be in the heart, mind and mouth of all who desire to serve Him and spend eternity with Him. He wants us to face Him, to communicate with Him, to wait for answers.
When solutions to our problems are presented, its up to us to implement them and bring our lives into submission to His will. That simply means, Do What He Says.
When we are in a struggle that threatens our peace of mind, or even our lives, when we seek the face of Jesus, He has the answer every time. But first the reason why the struggle is happening needs to be dealt with.
In most cases in my own experience, and in ministry to others, we presume that our present distress is caused by circumstances beyond our control, brought upon us by people who are malicious, or simply bad luck.
Our God has thoughts far above our highest ability to think and understand. He looks at our whole lives in one instant and sees the root of the problem hidden in our past. When we repent and are born again, every sin is forgiven and blotted out by the Blood of Jesus. There is no other way for sin to be wiped out.
It's not sin we are dealing with but some consequences of it. We may be forgiven for fornication but if we are pregnant we have to take care of that baby when its born. We may be forgiven for murder but the victim's family could put out a hit on our life, or a curse, or voodoo doll with pins in it.
Phillipians 2 v 12 - 15: "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world."
We have to deal with these problems which can only be done when the Lord shows us how. We truly need face time with Him to fathom it out. Or a full time prophet of God on our speed dial. As Paul says, we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.
King Saul, the first king of Israel, very tall and heavy. When Goliath shouted his challenge to the king to send his strongest man to fight him, day after day, the Israeli army hid under their beds. Until the day that David brought lunch to his brothers.
He heard Goliath's mocking challenge, and without hesitation said let me at him! Saul put his huge heavy armour on him, and gave him his heavy sword. It took David just a moment to know this was not God's plan.
He removed it all and took what he trusted, his faith in the Almighty and his slingshot. On his way to face Goliath he picked up five stones. How Goliath mocked David and Israeli until the first stone landed on his forehead bringing the giant down. David took the giant's huge sword and decapitated him. Israel had won, the Palestinians became their servants, and a few years later David became king.
So we don't have to be some great heavy weight boxer to punch the enemy flat, our pride in our own abilities is a real drawback. Our confidence must be in our Saviour, and His abilities to overcome evil. Follow His instructions, be sensitive to every nudge and go forth in faith to kill our giants.
It is our personal relationship, our trust, our submission to Jesus that is the key to every victory. When we choose to use our flesh instead of our spiritual abilities, we are on our own. The struggles are permitted by God to, how ever long it takes, get us to seek His face and obey His Word.
To some this may seem unfair or unkind, however, its important to note that when we uncover the reason for our problems, that is when we find true freedom from not just that immediate need, but from many other family upheavals or life threatening ills. Those who are set free by Jesus are free indeed.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, no matter who we are nor what office we hold in the Church, we know that You are working to a Master Plan that was finalised 6000 years ago. It affects every human being and our problems in life. You are working it out so when we seek Your face we get the way forward, the next steps. Without You we flounder and are at the mercy of the cruel world. Help us to get this right. In Jesus' name. Amen.