Bible Reading Plan | Devotion for the week of March 27, 2022

Weekly Reading: Galatians 2, Exodus 5-8, Psalm 101 & 102
Passages Referenced: Numbers 6:24-26, Psalm 102, 1 Corinthians 13:12, Revelation 21:3-4

Our 18-month-old daughter, Joy, is still young enough to get excited by the game, “Peek-A-Boo.” She also breaks out in a huge grin and squeals upon seeing her favorite people. Her chubby little hand points as she babbles, as if to say, “I know you!”

Joy loves the faces of people she loves. Likewise, as Christians, we want to see God’s face, be known by Him, and be loved by Him. The popular benediction from Numbers 6:24-26 reads as follows: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” We want to be before God’s face. We long for His face to shine on us and to be turned toward us.

In keeping with this notion of longing for God’s face, Psalm 102 in my Bible is titled, “Do Not Hide Your Face from Me.” This psalm is a lament–a cry to the Lord depicting anguish, sadness, or suffering. Its subtitle is, “a prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord.” The psalmist doesn’t note a specific occasion or reason for the suffering that is occurring, only that he’s in distress. Right out of the gate, the psalmist begins with, “Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you! Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!” Verses 3-11 further elaborate on the author’s situation. He suffers physically (“my bones burn like a furnace,” “my bones cling to my flesh,” “ I wither away like grass”). He can’t sleep. He suffers emotionally (“I am like a lonely sparrow…I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink”). His enemies taunt him. Seemingly every aspect of his life is affected by his suffering.

But in verses 12-22, the author puts his focus back on the Lord. “But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations…Nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.”

Finally, in verses 23-28, the psalmist prays with confidence to the Lord. He addresses Him directly, then notes, “Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end. “

Laments in Scripture can give us words when we have none of our own. Laments give us the language to come before a holy, loving God when we are suffering. We can come to the Lord when our souls are world-weary, full of sadness, anxiety, or anger. The Lord in His merciful wisdom has given us words in His Word to approach Him, to be “before His face” as we speak to Him. The Psalms remind us of God’s character and comfort us with eternal truths.

Right now, we can’t actually see God’s face. We live in a fallen, broken world where laments are necessary. But 1 Corinthians 13:12 notes, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.” If we are in Christ, one day we will need to lament no more. One day, we will see our Savior face to face. Revelation 21: 3-4 announces to us: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Take heart, friends, for though this side of heaven we may lament our broken world, one day we will see our Lord face to face. May He bless you as you read His word and know Him more this week. –Kacie Langeland