Watching the Face of God

Act 4:13  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 

Joh 4:47  When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 

Joh 4:48  So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 

Joh 4:49  The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 

Joh 4:50  Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 

One of the ways we can test our faith is how we have been affected by coming into contact with Jesus.  True faith believes what the Bible reveals about God and that has profound effects on the way we live.  We see it in the above passages.  The way the Apostles spoke in Acts 4 left no doubt that they had been taught by the Lord.

In the John 4 passage we have the account of the nobleman who thought Jesus had to go to his house to heal his son.  But when Jesus told him to go home because his son would be healed, he immediately headed home assured that what Jesus had said was true.  Even greater faith was seen in Matt. 8 when the centurion told Jesus that he didn’t have to come to his house to heal his servant but just speak the word and it would be done no matter the distance.  Jesus said he had never seen such faith.

Unfortunately not everyone who meets or hears of Jesus is changed.  In chapter 6 of John the crowd that is fed by the boy’s small lunch follows him around for a couple of days and yet they eventually walk away from him still lost in their sins, Joh 6:66  After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.  I believe we are being told that when someone really comes to see Jesus in his glory and is saved, others can tell there is something different about you.  If there is no change then you haven’t really seen Christ’s glory and so are still lost.

One of the most important things we can see and benefit from when we look at the face of God in his Son is his absolute sovereignty in all things.  It reminds me of how my wife would handle situations when our children would hurt themselves.  If the situation allowed her to, she would do things like “comfort” the ground when the child fell as if they had hurt the ground.  She was attempting to relay to the child that they really weren’t hurt that bad and there was nothing to be worried about and sometimes they could just laugh it off.  Even during more serious times she was always careful not to panic but do what she could to keep the child calm.

We would do something similar during storms.  Instead of acting scared and worried, we would be sure to remain calm and have fun and perhaps speak of the fact that the Lord is in control of the storm.  I knew one woman with children who would run and get under her bed during thunderstorms.  I doubt that did her kids much good.  I praise the Lord that some years later she came up to me during a storm and pointed out how calm she was.

So my application in this is that since God is in complete control of all things and he has a good purpose in all he sends our way; then he is the most calm and happy entity in all of the universe.  Nothing catches him by surprise and he never panics but is always perfectly content.  We would be in a good habit of looking at his face, by knowing and trusting his Word to us, during times of distress and remember that he is happy and so we can take our cue from him.

We see this throughout the Bible; Psa 17:15  As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.  Psa 102:2  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!   Of course with the Lord he isn’t pretending to be having fun, he actually is because everything he does brings him joy and glory.  It is a mark of maturity when we can see things the way God does and react in the same way.  Faith sees the joy and contentment in the face of God during times of trial and takes its cue from the reality that God is merely working out his perfect plan in us.

I can’t imagine a greater compliment you could pay me than to watch my life and assume I have been with Jesus as they said about the disciples in Acts 4.  If we have the same scowl, anger, sadness, discontented disposition that the lost have then what are we saying about not only our faith but about the God we say we trust in?