“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” (1 Chronicles: 16:11).

“For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face.” (Ps 11:7).  “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us.” (Ps. 67:1).

The blessing and favor of God is His presence and attention.  Yet, in our fallen human nature and among the corruption, pain, injustice and suffering of this world, we can lose our focus, wander from the source of life, and be overcome by distraction.  Still, there is hope in the merciful compassionate Father God.  “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” (Isa. 59:1-2).

“If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate.  He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.” (2 Chron. 30:9).

“You who fear the Lord, praise him!  All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!  Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!  For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.” (Ps. 22:23-24).

“My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”  Your face, Lord, I will seek.  Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper.  Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. (Ps. 27:8-9).

We have a description of the Lord from John’s Revelation:

“…and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.  The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.  His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.  In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.  His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.  When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.  Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid.  I am the First and the Last.  I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!  And I hold the keys of death and Hades.’ ” (Rev. 1:13-18).

The face of God is beyond description and those who beheld some measure of Him fell on their face in weakness, contrition, fear and awe.  However, in heaven the full glory and majesty of God’s presence will be continually radiant.  What an indescribable joy and delight will heaven be simply to behold the face of God in all its fullness.

“No longer will there be any curse.  The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night.  They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.  And they will reign for ever and ever.” (Rev. 22:3-5).

We have a taste of the goodness of the Lord, when He saves us out of His great mercy and grace.  When God opens our eyes to see Him and the truth and makes us a new creation in Messiah Yeshua, His resurrection life is released.

“But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:16-18).