Day #210 - Shine on Us

The Presence - A Devotional for living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us— so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭67‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash

Who do you let get in your face?

Letting someone in your face is a sign of trust and intimacy. We don’t let strangers in our face. My wife can come close to my face because she is my favorite. My kids can come close to my face. As I got older, my Dad even returned to coming close to my face and kissing my cheek. We don’t let just anyone in our face. The closer someone can come to my face, the closer the relationship.

Psalm 67 is a song and a prayer that God would be gracious and bless us and make His face shine upon us. The greatest blessing God can give us is to bring us close to His face and cause His face to shine on us. “The Presence” being manifest in our lives is about the nearness of God’s face. We can’t see His face and have Him shine upon us unless we are close.

When we trust God, we let Him close. God wants intimacy with us. He is gracious to us. When He is our God and we have put our trust in Him, our inheritance is the nearness of His face. There is a quality of relationship that God longs to share with us. Its sad to think that many Christians can know about God but not experience the shine that comes from His face. God is so gracious to share Himself with us and make Himself available to us. He wants to be close.

This kind of nearness with God, where His face shines upon us, has the power to change the world. The psalmist said that when His face shines on us, God’s ways are known to the the whole world and salvation to all nations. God’s plan to reach the world is about a people that are distinctively graced with “the Presence.” This writer knew that when God’s glory rests upon us, we will have influence in the world.

This has been my prayer more and more that I would see God’s face. I don’t want to be distant. I long to dwell in a close relationship where His faces shines upon me. I want to shift the atmosphere in my city. True transformation comes not just from hard work and strategy, it comes from radiating the shine of His face to those who need God most. Reaching the nations is a presence project. Come in close to let His face shine upon you.

God, be gracious to me and bless me and make Your face shine on me. I want to see Your ways known on all the earth and Your salvation among the nations. Let me be a carrier of Your presence. I trust You and I thank you that You want to bring me near to Your face. Let the shine of Your face mold me and shape. I love the glory of Your face. In Jesus name, amen.