Facing the Lord may sound like a natural thing to believers, but the truth is, no one is born knowing how to face the Lord. We are born with the nature that is not aware of how to draw near to the Lord but only to do according to our heart’s desire, responsibilities or personal benefits. Just like how my younger son, Jude, is. When he wants to pack his toys, he would. But at times, he just does not feel like it and start throwing tantrums when asked to pack up. He does things according to how he feels. But when men continue to do things this way, it will be like catching the wind. Because our desires will change, our attention span will run out, our interest may turn bland, our responsibilities may shift. Then what happens next? Is there anything we can bring with us to eternity? Or are you striving and slogging over what you know may end one day, and you cannot bring along with you? If that is so, the main reason is because we may have been missing the most important part of facing the eternal Lord, the Lord that provides for us, the One that gives us the grace to do all that He has called us into. Therefore, this seemingly easy phrase is actually the hardest lesson for us.
The deepest need in men— to face the Lord.
When a person has known about the gospel through Christ, the first thing we will know is the presence of God and from there, we learn how to trust in Him, rely on Him, submit to Him and this in itself, means to face the Lord. We may not be perfect, but we have to understand that our whole faith living is about the continual journey of facing the Lord over and over again, because that is our greatest need. Whenever we are in distress, struggles or wrestling with our weaknesses, that area of need is where we should fill it up with God’s help and blessings by facing Him. The centre of our spirit is the one that satisfies us entirely and that is where we have to look to God, pray for His conviction, His help and comfort. This is the thing we truly need.
The blindspots and misunderstandings of facing the Lord.
As we are going through the process of facing the Lord, some of us may say that “I have been praying for so long, but God does not seem to be hearing me. I am still in my dire state” or “I have already done my role to my best ability, but I still do not see changes in the people or situation around me. I still do not see any fruits in my labour.” But actually, above all these, what we should restore is our state of mind that faces the Lord. We must have assurance that if we truly look the the Lord, we will surely see His help. Our Lord is living and listening to our every prayer. The only worry is if what we sincerely desire is not Him, what we rely on is not Him and who we surrender our heart to is not Him. We will know that if our hearts are fully reliant and focused on God, the satisfaction in us will supercede the material matters. This goes the same for the tasks and servings we do in life. We have to see who we are ultimately serving, God or men? Do we truly submit to the Lord and when we serve, is it for the Lord? If not, we will easily be attacked by hurts, disappointments or emptiness, from men or the circumstances. And instead of being healed and empowered by experiencing God’s works through us, we will be disheartened and numb. Therefore, let us be more sensitive to the spiritual blindspots and misunderstandings we have about what it means to face the Lord.
Look completely to the Lord in all you do.
So let us talk about how we may look to the Lord completely in all we do.
In Matthew 6:5-6, it says “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Examine your heart and do not do it for men’s approval.
Firstly, in this verse, it talks about one of men’s greatest idols, and that is men. It is natural for us to seek men’s approval or praises because it makes us feel acknowledged and good. But men is, after all, limited and the strength they give from their praises cannot sustain us. If we are always looking out to be affirmed by positive words or responses from people, to be “seen” as God-loving even, we will gradually be enslaved by the likes and ever-changing emotions of others. And like the verse has said, if we do it for the reward of men’s appraisal, we will merely be rewarded on that level and will not receive more from the Lord. So we may get a promotion, a good result, a word of praise from our friends or co-workers, but that is it. We will not receive the reward at a spiritual level, that deeply satisfies and heal all areas of our lives through His word and grace.
In our faith, we must often go “into our room” and face the Lord.
Next, we must “go into our room, close the door and pray to our Father.” Now where is this room referring to? It refers to the depths of your heart, the part that holds your greatest need, our innermost holy place and the place where we meet God face to face. At that place, we can look to Him and only He will see us for who we truly are, knowing our need to rely on Him and submit to Him. It is not a place that is merely stirred up by emotions or atmosphere. It is a place of honesty, stripped down and bare to the Lord’s teachings, comfort and enlightening. In the world, we often face people and work that influences our hearts and minds. Therefore, it is essential for us to go into solitude with the Lord, to gain strength and counsel for how we should face the different situations in our lives- the gospel way. For example, I may have difficulty teaching my children about how to behave as they may throw tantrums or even react rudely to me. But the truth of the Lord I receive from looking to Him and His word, gives me the wisdom and authority to know when to speak with grace or discipline at the right time. We have to see that “the room”, the place where we can face God in solitude is the one where He has prepared a plethora of resources for us to restore our identity and purpose in all the things we have to do, beyond what the world can offer.
God’s reward
Finally, the verse talks about God’s reward, after seeing what we have done to seek Him in secret. When He has seen that our heart truly desires after Him and is fully reliant on Him, He will surely reward us. We all need reward but it is important to note where our reward comes from and where it goes to. Firstly, the reward that the Lord gives goes to our spirit. This reward is one that we will experience in the form of healing as a whole person, having a balanced heart and being genuine with how we are with others. From there, men will start to be drawn to your life and you will be able to bless people around you as well, getting them to know God or be transformed. This is brought by the power of God’s intervention and a reward to those who look and wait upon the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, may we all learn a simple lesson from this, that our faith living is all about looking to the Lord. Even if we may fail or fall in some areas of lives right now or in the past, let us not be disheartened but see that it is a lifetime lesson for everyone, to learn how to face the Lord through all these moments. May we all be brought into a life that takes delight in meeting God face to face daily. God bless.
