I will not hide from your face…
Only grant me two things, then I will not hide myself from your face: withdraw your hand far from me, and let not dread of you terrify me. Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and you reply to me. – Job 13:20-22 ESV
Each morning, I wake up and grab a cup of coffee. I usually do two or three simple administrative tasks and eventually move from my desk chair to my reading chair.
There on the side table next to my reading chair are a couple of stacks of books. One stack is for my morning stack and the other stack are the books I really want to get to either later in the day or sometime soon. This second stack has the books I thought were a great idea to order but bring feelings of overwhelm as they sit unattended for longer than I would like.
My morning stack includes a Psalm 119 Journal and my Bible. And two to three devotionals.
These two reading elements are my way of heeding the instruction found in Job 13:23, “…call and I will answer,” and “let me speak, and you reply to me.” I want to read God’s word from Scripture, and I want to reply to God as the devotionals prompt. I want to hear from God and receive nuggets of truth from His Word. Then I want my heart to be soft and malleable enough to receive His truth into the “good soil” of my heart.
As I read the Word of God, I am practicing the spiritual disciple of Bible intake. When I read the devotionals, I am practicing the spiritual disciples of silence and solitude, prayer and fasting, and grieving and mourning (lament).
I am practicing a spiritual dialogue between God and my heart. I want rich truth to come from God’s revealed Word. And I want my heart to respond to this truth in surrender, repentance, and acceptance. I want my heart to be changed. I want to intentionally put my heart before God and allow Him to change me.
Reading the Bible gives me the truth I need for the day. The devotionals help till up the soil of my heart, breaking up the hard exterior, removing the plaque that may have started to form, and keeping my heart open to receiving what God intends to multiple in my life and the life of others around me.
Psalm 119 has been called “the longest I-to-you conversation” in the Bible. I want to learn how to have that kind of conversation with my perfect Father, my perfect older brother, Jesus, and my perfect counselor, the Holy Spirit.
As Job says in chapter 13, “I will not hide myself from your face.” Then he continues, “I will answer… and you reply to me.”
It is important to learn how to talk with God. Job knew how. The writer of Psalm 119 knew how. I am still learning. God willing, my learning will continue until I see Him face to face. Oh, what a glorious endeavor in preparation for that even more glorious day.
If you struggle with how to have a conversation with God, consider reaching out to Burke Care for encouragement and support. The Burke Care Team would love to hear your story. Please plan to reach out today.
Lord, teach me to not hide myself from Your face. Create in me the confidence found only in Jesus. You have reconciled me to You, as Your child. You have adopted me. Keep me in your arms until You return me safely home. Amen.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” —Romans 8:15 ESV
Application Questions:
How do I hide? What am I hiding? From whom am I hiding?
When are the times that I feel reconciled with God and when does He feel distant?
What does beginning the practice of a daily conversation with God look like? A conversation in which I hear from Him through His Word, and I talk back to him through prayer?
