[Dailydevo] Daily Devotion Tuesday July 4, 2006

[Barry Ludwig]

Daily Devotions Tuesday July 4, 2006

This week's devotions are written by Pastor Barry Ludwig.  In the ancient
world, looking upon the face of another was an act of great intimacy; reason
enough to cover the faces of women from non-household men. It was also an
act of parity; reason enough why the commoner was not allowed to look
directly into the eye of a king.  It was an act of power which is why the
Old Testament  warned that to look upon the face of God would result in
death. Let's think about faces this week.

 

Psalm 34: 4-5 (RSV)

"I sought the LORD, and he answered me,  and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed."

 

My mother had an uncanny ability to "read" my face. When I was little she
always seemed to know when I feared for the alligators which I believed,
lived under my bed. As the years went on she knew when I was troubled and
when I was ashamed. It was comforting to know that she knew even when I did
not use words to confide in her. She also knew how to affirm me in a way
that strengthened and comforted me.

 

The psalmist describes our God as one who really can "read" our faces (that
is, our hearts) and brings strength and encouragement to those who "face"
troubling times.  In my mother's last years on earth, she could no longer
read my face. Indeed, she no longer recognized my face as she sank ever
deeper into dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease. During those often dark
and difficult days I was guided by the realization that God had never
stopped "reading" her face or my own and never stopped providing us with
what was necessary to find strength, significance and yes even "radiance" in
the middle of the darker moments of life.

 

Stay the course,  for God not only reads your face, God loves and embraces
your life.

 

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