softscarletcarpets asked:

What does it mean to seek God’s face? How can I seek Him?

I answered:

The phrase “seek God’s face” comes from 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says:

“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” This is God appearing to Solomon after he had built the Temple. That context is important because the Temple would attract thousands of people who had questions exactly like your’s about what it means to seek and know God.

I think to seek God’s face means simply to try to pursue a relationship with Him. You want to know what He is about and how you fit into that. 

I always get a little weirded out by those Christian books that are “5 steps to having joy” or “8 steps to a dynamic prayer life”. Everybody’s walk with the Lord is unique and the spirit moves in different ways in people’s lives. That said, I think when there is a clear list like this in scripture we do well to look at it. Nothing in scripture is an accident the order is relevant too. So let’s look at these things that lead to seeking God’s face.

Knowing what your relationship with God is: “my people, who are called by my name”, in order to seek God you have to know who He is and who you are in Him. People who have the misconception that God is an angry overly-critical father, or someone waiting for you to make a mistake so He can squash you, you will not be in a mindset to seek his face. The same is true if you think you are the most sinniest sinner ever and see yourself as beyond hope, etc. You have to have a correct understanding that God loves you and sent Jesus to earth to die just so that He could have a relationship with you. When you get your head around that, then you will want to seek Him.

Have the right attitude: “will humble themselves”. Not that we understand the proper relationship between us and God, we can draw the conclusion that God has the right to tell us what to do. He created us, redeemed us, and best of all, His plans for us are infinitely better than our plans for ourselves. If you going to seek God’s face earnestly, it is going to change things. We have to have the understanding that God knows better than us and be willing to humble our plans to His.

Talk to Him: “and pray”. God is omnipresent, which makes seeking Him easier than you might think, if you have the right idea what you are looking for. If seeking God’s face is about figuring out what His plan for you is, then the quickest way to get there is ask. Jesus implores his follower so ask, seek and knock.

Seeking God’s face is one of those biblical terms that is wonderfully poetic, but is still a practical instruction. When we break it down, it becomes less confusing and gives us some ways to pursue a clearer and deeper understanding of our walk with the Lord.

-Matt from The Bridge

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