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“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’  Your face Lord, I will seek.”

-Psalm 27:8

Favor

Seek His Face is the first painting I did in church one Sunday morning many years ago. Before the service I asked God what He wanted me to paint. I opened my Bible to Psalm 27. Verse 8 stood out to me the most.  It says:  “My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face Lord, I will seek.”  I knew what I was going to paint, but wasn’t sure how I was going to do it.  Then God gave me a picture of a sun to paint on the left side, representing His face.  I told God, “Okay. I trust you and will do my best.”  The whole time I was painting, He helped me through it.  Later the Lord brought more clarity and connections through some scriptures.  

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless” (Psalm 84:11).  Wow!  The Lord confirmed the image of the sun I had painted through Psalm 84.  God is a sun, giving favor and He’s even a shield, giving honor.  It became even more clear what God was showing me after I read Numbers 6:24-26, which is a priestly blessing given to the Israelites during the time of Moses.

“‘”The Lord bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace”‘” (NIV). 

In the Good News Translation, verse 26 says, “May the LORD look on you with favor and give you peace.”  The word favor in Hebrew is ḥên (chen).  It’s also translated as the word grace.  Basically favor means showing approval and acceptance.  When we are favored, God is being gracious to us; His face is turned towards us like the sun.  God approves and accepts us.  He is shining down on us because he’s pleased with us.

I’m reminded of the scripture in Matthew 3:17 when God spoke about Jesus:  “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  I pray that we also may be pleasing to our Father as Jesus was to His Father.

One

When I was painting Seek His Face, the colors of the sun (representing God) and heart (representing us) began to mix together.  At first I thought it was a mistake, but then realized it wasn’t, because God was showing me that He wants to make us one with Him.  And when we are pleasing to God and love Him with all our heart, He shines his face of favor and love down upon us.  This relationship happens simultaneously, like in John 15 and John 17, when Jesus said:   

 “Remain in me, and I will remain in you…” (John 15:4).  

 “I pray…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you…that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:20-22). 

It’s Jesus’ prayer that we be one with the Father, as He is one with the Father.  That kind of abiding relationship is the best we could ever have or desire.  We can remain in God’s love through our obedience, which truly proves our love for Him.  Then, miraculously, our joy may be complete (John 15:11).  Now that’s a true miracle of the Lord!  

“Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord.  You have filled my heart with greater joy.” (Psalm 4:6-7)