Do you seek the presence of God and his strength?

My favorite moment at a wedding is the look on the bride and groom’s faces when they first see one another. There are many other people in the room but only one face that each other most wants to see.

I love watching people at the airport as they are looking for that family member who has been serving overseas. Urgency changes to joy when they spot their loved one’s face. So it will be when we meet Jesus face-to-face. The skies will open up and we will see him come, eager to take us home.

First Chronicles was written to the nation of Israel as a reminder of their history and to encourage them with the knowledge that the Lord had always been faithful to them, ensuring future generations would be able to know and follow God. Why would that always be true?

There will always be people who look to the Lord and his strength. Faith is a legacy we leave to others when we “look” to him for our wisdom and strength. The verb look describes the action of looking for something in order to possess it for ourselves. Our most valuable possession is the Lord and the strength he provides.

To look for the Lord, we “seek his face always.” When a mother wants her young child to listen with focus, she takes the child’s face in her hands and says, “Look at me.” That is a picture of what Scripture means when it describes “seeking God’s face.” We are to focus on him, undistracted by anything else. We are to look for him like the groom looks for his bride. We are to seek him with urgency knowing our joy will be seeing his face.

How can we seek God “always?” We allow the word of Christ to dwell in us richly. The voice of Christ is “present” in his word. When we look to the Lord in Scripture, we find his strength and we learn how to recognize his presence throughout the day.

And one day, we will meet him face-to-face. That wedding is a day to look forward to now.