God is very much in love with us. He is longing for us to come to Him and acknowledge Him in our lives. Often we get too busy to look for Him, and we settle for what we have in this life without him. We accept what this world can bring us. Do you know that there is so much more to Jesus Christ? Do you know that if you were to read the scriptures He offers so much more? He healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast demons out of so many people. He also brought peace, courage, hope and love. He brought so much of Himself for us when He came here on earth. But He didn’t stop there. He also gave power to His disciples to do the very things He was doing. When He left, He returned as the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost. Just look at the Book of Acts, I mean talk about miracles after miracles that God brought through the apostles’ hands when He filled them with His Holy Spirit! The miracles didn’t stop when Jesus left them, it continued through them. And I’m not just talking about physical healing. I’m also talking about emotional and spiritual healing that innumerable people experienced all throughout the Bible. But the thing is, the scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. {Hebrews 13:8} He hasn’t changed. He still comes to us today. Jesus told the disciples that they will see Him again. Jesus said He will show Himself to those that love Him, and will make his home inside of them. How? He will come and live in their hearts. If you’ve repented of your sins, been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost, that’s exactly what takes places. He comes and makes His home in your heart. He is the Holy Ghost – Jesus Christ. He is the Comforter that will come to us and live inside of us if we want Him. He said to the disciples,
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him… Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. {John 14:18-21,23}
But many times we settle with what we know about Christ. We don’t spend enough time knowing Him. He’s come and lived inside of our hearts, but we’re not reaping the benefits. We hardly know the Lord because we’re so busy, and we’re okay settling with what we have and already know about Him. We go to church, read our Bible, pray a little bit, and go on our merry way. We don’t take time for Him as much as we know we should. Of course when we have a problem, then we spend lots more time with Him asking for His intervention. Then when He hears our prayers and grants us our heart’s desire, we go back to our old routine: Go to church, read our Bible, and pray a little bit. We don’t really look for God, we don’t seek after Him and we don’t wait on Him. We settle. We settle for the little blessings we get from God. Why, when He can give us so much more? The disciples got so much more after the Day of Pentecost when Jesus poured out His Holy Spirit upon them. They fell in love with Him. They spent time with Him in prayer, seeking after Him in the spirit even before He fell upon them and filled them with the Holy Ghost. They were in the upper room for ten days praying and spending time with Him, waiting for Him. God was pleased with them because they sought after Him and spent time with Him.
In the Book of Psalms God instructed King David to seek His face. King David wrote this:
When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. {Psalm 27:8}
King David said back to the Lord, “Yes, Lord I will seek your face.” Why is this so important to find His face? Why is it so important to the Lord that we find Him, we look for Him and we seek after Him? Because when we find Him we will receive so much more. We will receive our healing, our deliverance, and our innermost heart’s desires in this life. We will come to receive revelations of God and who He is. We will find the reason why we exist, what our calling is on this earth, and what our purpose is in this life. He loves us so much that He wants to bless us with one hundred percent of Himself. He wants us to know Him. He wants to bless those that love Him. When you’re in love with someone, you want to give to them. But if they’re not in love with you back, you tend to hesitate to give one hundred percent of yourself. God wants to give to us one hundred percent of Himself and the blessing He has in-store for us. But if we don’t seek His face and find Him, we will not receive it. He will not give to us because our hearts are after things other than Him. He only gives one hundred percent of Himself to those that love Him. Remember what He said to the disciples,
“…he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him…” {John 14:21}
He commanded King David to seek His face. Not just know about Him and talk about Him and even pray to Him, but to find His face. We all know David was a singer and a songwriter and also an instrument player. He loved God and danced before Him. And yet He told King David, “Seek my face.” He didn’t want David to settle with a shallow relationship with Him. He wanted David to really know who He is.
God hates shallow relationships. He’s into a really deep connection with people. He’s a very passionate person. That’s the reason why He gave His life and died at the cross. A person who will die for you has to be really serious about His love for you. He’s not playing around. God means business whenever He says He loves you. But He desires the same thing from us, because a shallow relationship doesn’t fill Him. It’s not enough for him. Remember He is a God of love. That means not only does He give love, He also wants love in return. And a shallow love is not enough for Him. He wants it all, one hundred percent from us. How can He love someone who doesn’t love Him back the way He loves them, and would not take the time to know Him? Not only that, how can He bless them and give one hundred percent of Himself to them, if they’re not giving one hundred percent of themselves to Him?
The only way to truly love someone is to know that person really well. And the only way to know them is to spend time with them. The more you spend time with someone, the more they become important to you, and the more they have value in your life. So the only way we’re going to end up loving Jesus is to spend time with Him and find Him. We must be seeking after His face. That love is going to come the more you spend time with Him. The more you know Him, the more you’re going to love Him. The more you love Him, the more He’s going to want to be with you, and the more He is going to bless you with Himself. Do you know what that is like to be blessed by Jesus? It means, you have everything given to you. In short, anything that Jesus has is yours. Think about it. Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Great I Am. He is God. When you have God loving you one hundred percent because you’ve given yourself to Him one hundred percent, there is nothing you can ask Him that He will not give to you. Not only that, you will come to see things in this life that you’ve not seen before. He will show you great things that you’ve not even imagined. The more you spend time with Him, the more He will spend His time with you. The more you do this, the more you will come to know Him. The more you give yourself to Him, the more He will give Himself to you. And in no time at all you will be seeing His face. You will see Him in your mind. He stops becoming a mystery. He becomes real to you. You will actually see Him now in your spirit, Jesus Christ. You will experience what the disciples experienced with Jesus. He will give you your prayers. He will give you all your heart’s desires. He will lift you up and let you sit with Him in heavenly places, where you start to have power over the principalities of this world and start changing things in your world. You will come to experience why the apostles were so passionate about Christ and in their love for Him. He will be with you as soon as you look for Him. This is the only way to end up seeing God’s face: when we know and love Him so much we give one hundred percent of ourselves to Him.
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 inquire in his temple. {Psalm 27:4}
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. {John 15:4}
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. {Matthew 10:39}
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. {Matthew 11:29}
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. {Matthew 5:8}
And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. {Matthew 10:38}
Prayer
Lord Jesus I thank You for You in my life. I thank You for giving Your life at the cross at Calvary to set me free to love You today, and to live for You. I thank You also that Your desire is for me to follow You and give of myself to You.
Father, I pray that You will help me today, and each and everyday to give one hundred percent of myself to you. Let me seek Your face. As You said to King David to seek Your face, please help me to do the same and find You. I don’t want to settle for a shallow relationship with You. I want more of You, Jesus. I want to know You more, Father. Give me faith Father to seek after You and know You. Let me spend the time I need to know You and come to love You so much with all of my heart and soul – and give one hundred percent to You. I pray this Father, in Your most wonderful name, Jesus. Thank You, Father. Amen.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
