“Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying His commands…Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered. They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.” (Psalm 112:1; 6-7 NLT)
What does it mean to set our face towards God? It means to walk with focus on Him in every detail of our life. Why do we get out of bed? Why do we live, love, laugh, work, play, or even care? If not for Jesus, none of it would matter? Why not? Because He IS life and without Him there would be no value or meaning in anything else we did or in which we participated.
It implies intentionality, determination and purpose. To set our face towards God implies focus on the carrying out of His desires and the accomplishment of His holy will, not a side consideration that we’ll get to if we have time. It’s a process that involves careful thought, planning, and will ignite our love for the Lord and our desire to please and honor Him.
A by-product of that commitment is an overwhelming sense of peace and confidence that nothing the devil throws at us can shake or harm us. J. C. Ryle writes: “The world, the flesh and the devil can never overwhelm the weakest person who sets their face towards God.” How can that be? Because the devil can’t tempt us unless and until he gets our attention. So, if we’re so focused on pleasing, honoring, and obeying the Lord, we’ll not be sidetracked by the schemes of the devil.
How do we learn how to live a life like that? Honestly, it takes time fueled by desire. We have to want it more than anything else, literally! If we really want God, but want even a little bit of the world, it can hold us back. Jesus said, “Above all else!” (Matthew 6:33). Does that negate any interest we have in family, friends, church, and many other good things in which we can invest ourselves as a Jesus follower?
No, of course not. But if our focus is on Jesus everything else falls into place behind Him. He’s our priority and everyone and everything we love should give us opportunity to reflect Him and His love. If He’s flowing in and through us, doesn’t it stand to reason that everyone and everything we touch should leave evidence of His life and love?
Why would it? Because that’s our intention! We WANT to leave His fingerprints on everything we touch; otherwise, we’ll simply be leaving our own, which does no eternal good. With every person I meet I want to do one of a couple things. First, I want to point them to Jesus. I want them to see evidence of His life in and through my life. If His Spirit isn’t evident in the way I interact with another person, why not?
And, no, that doesn’t necessarily mean we share the Gospel with them, at least not in words, but it does mean we should allow the Spirit to open their heart to Him, preparing them for the next time we meet, or they meet someone like us who loves Jesus and loves them. But what if I might be the last person they speak with before they meet the Lord?
Unless the Lord alerts us to that, we have no way of knowing, but we should always be open to and alert to opportunities to share the Gospel whenever we can. I’m just saying that casual conversation in a checkout line or doctor’s office waiting room may not give us that opportunity unless we sense a specific leading. That’s part of the process in setting our face towards the Lord, being ever sensitive to His leading.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 