Our sins separate
us from God and cause Him to hide His face from us. This puts up a wall of
separation between Him and us that will not allow Him to hear our prayers (Isaiah 59:2). When the Lord turns His face away from someone, He
cannot bless them. When we are unwilling to abandon our sinful ways, this
causes Him to withhold His mercy and compassion on us and He cannot pardon us
when we indulge in activities that grieve His heart (Isaiah 1:15). Due to our choices, He allows us to waste away in our sin (Isaiah 64:7).
God will not listen to the
sinner; but He always listens to the righteous who live a Godly lifestyle (John 9:31; Job 35:13). God is eager to wash away the stain caused by sin
in our life (Isaiah 4:4). The
prospect of being outside of God’s grace is horrifying to a Believer, but to
those lost in sin it is just another day in the world. They have nothing to
compare it with. They are accustomed to their sin separating them from God (Ezekiel 7:22).
The hope of humanity is to turn to God so that He can turn His face towards
us. When the Lord turns His face toward us, He gives us peace and unfailing
love (Psalm 31:16,
29:11; Numbers 6:26). He is
gracious to us, blesses us and teaches us His decrees (Psalm 67:1; Psalm
119:135). He restores us when we fall (Psalm 80:3,7). All we need to do is to repent and He will have
mercy on us and grant us His strength (Psalm 86:16).
He calls us to humble ourselves and to pray, to seek His face and to turn from our wicked ways. He hears us from heaven, forgives us for our sins and restores our heavenly inheritance to us (1 Chronicles 7:14). He never turns from us in our distress. The God of the universe actually condescends to bend down and listen to us and to answer us swiftly when we call to Him for help (Psalm 102:2). He turns His ear to us and quickly comes to our rescue. He is a strong fortress for us and He saves us (Psalm 31:2).
God is with the godly, watching over us wherever we go. He brings us back
into the realm of His provision. He will never leave us and He will always do
what He promises (Genesis 28:15). He
blesses us no matter where we live or what we do in life (Deuteronomy 28:3). He guards our steps, because we know that it is
not by our own strength that we prevail (1 Samuel 2:9). Through faith, we are shielded by God’s power until the coming of eternal
salvation, which is ready to be revealed in the last days (1 Peter 1:5).
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God places His angels around us to protect us in everything we do. They
lift us up and guard us from any harm (Psalm 91:11-12). He never sleeps and He watches over us day and
night. (Psalm
121:3). He is our confidence (Proverbs 3:26). He delights in us and gives us a firm foundation
(Psalm
37:23). He is a righteous God who
searches minds and hearts. He brings the violence of the wicked to an end and
He makes the righteous eternally secure (Psalm 7:9). Prayer: Lord God, bless us abundantly, keep us in the palm of Your hand, be gracious to us in our trials and shortcomings and make Your face shine on us (Numbers 6:24-25). Keep us as the apple of Your eye; hide us in the shadow of Your wings (Psalm 17:8). Save us and bless us with Your inheritance. Be our shepherd and carry us forever in Your everlasting arms (Psalm 28:9).
Thought for the Day:
May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be
gracious to you. - Numbers 6:25 |
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