scripture and prayer reflection
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Lyrics
Pierced for my transgressions
Wounded for my sins
This man of sorrows came to take my place
King over creation
Slain for my salvation
Unspeakable love, abounding grace
Now I am coming to this holy place
I am drawing near to seek Your face
Jesus, Your blood has made my hands clean
So I will not hide my face from You
You have won the victory
You have paid the cost
While I was still in sin You died for me
Carrying my sorrows
Lifting off my shame
Bearing all my sin to set me free
Now I am coming to this holy place
I am drawing near to seek Your face
Jesus, Your blood has made my hands clean
So I will not hide my face from You
I will ascend the hill of the Lord
'Cause You have rescued me
Isaiah 53:3-6
3 He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
Psalm 27:7-8, 13-14
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
Psalm 24:3-6
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Reflection
In the wake of Easter celebrations, we are reminded once again that we do not need to hide from God, but can seek His face in the freedom that Christ won for us. This seeking is not a way to win or earn or to somehow retroactively merit our salvation. We are already secure in Christ who relentlessly pursues us. Rather, the intention inherent to the act of seeking holds the key to understanding this idea of seeking God’s face — it is a way of examining what our hearts are pursuing and attaching to.
So often our hearts are attached to things other than Christ - family, comfort, success, money, acceptance. These are the things we so often seek. They aren’t inherently bad in themselves, and many are gifts that God gives us to steward and enjoy. However, our hearts are so often prone to become more attached to the gifts than the Giver. In pursuing and maintaining these good gifts, we at times lose track of seeking to be with God, not just with the good things He has given.
At other times in life, it feels like these gifts are being stripped from us— that we are losing the things, the securities, the people that we love so dearly. There are certainly many things to wrestle through with God when we encounter such upsetting or even crushing circumstances.
But I wonder if there might also be an invitation in such times. What would it look like to seek His face in the midst of this wrestling? What would it be to bear the loss alongside the Man of Sorrows, knowing that because He has drawn near to us and given us His Spirit, we no longer carry this alone? As one who suffered and underwent temptation as we do, we have a great high priest who understands our weakness and our griefs (Heb 4:14-16). We now walk in and with Him.
Take a moment to reflect on the fact that the greatest gift that Christ has given us is Himself — the ability to seek and be with God, the source of life and love Himself. In this time of uncertainty and isolation, what would it look like to anchor in this truth today? To seek His face in the small, everyday, mundane tasks of life at home? In the concerns and worries for ourselves and our loved ones? In the relational frustrations and irritations? In the unknowns and the loneliness? Spend some time talking with God about what comes up as you consider this.