1 Chronicles 16:11

AMP – Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually [longing to be in His presence].

NRSVUE – Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.

VOICE – Always follow the Eternal, His strength and His face.

Creating a Strong Relationship

In the context of 1 Chronicles 16, King David is celebrating the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Seeking God involves three things: prayer, worship, and obeying His commandments. The Israelites are encouraged to seek God with all their heart and soul. The strength of God describes His power and might, which are available to those that follow Him. Israel often relief on God’s strength for victory in battles and deliverance from enemies. This strength provides believers with the strength to get through their trials and overcome sin. Seeking God’s face shows a desire for His presence and favor. In ancient Near Eastern culture, the face of a king represented his attention and approval. Seeking God’s face shows that we want a close, personal relationship with Him founded on intimacy and communion. It’s a lifelong journey that we take to create a relationship.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Creating a relationship is focused on prayer, worship, and following His commands. What does that look like in your current season of life?

Finding Silence Through the Noise

Our strength is insufficient to get through the challenges of life. We are called to depend on God’s strength, which is made perfect through our weaknesses. There are so many challenges that we’re facing right now. From an on-and-off war with Iran, to a parasite outbreak affect our produce and health, massive political divisions, economic instability, and the list goes on. This is all the communal stuff that we are affected by with right now. It doesn’t consider all the smaller things that you may be weighing heavily on you. How can we find God’s strength in these stressful times?

First, find moments of peace. Turn off your phone. Turn off your devices. Create a time to journal, sit in silence, meditate, or go through breath prayers. These methods allow us to see God’s strength transform our reactions to the world’s events from fear to love. In a world that is lasered in on the news cycles, seeking God means we let His presence become our first response. Second, seek justice-shaped discipleship. Seeking God and his strength includes listening to the heart’s of the oppressed, marginalized, and hurting – immigrants, racial minorities, impoverished, unemployed, victims of war and climate disasters, and more. Then we can learn from these voices, confess your complicity, and advocate for policies and systems that protect the vulnerable. When we seek the Lord, we find him standing with the least of these. Lastly, we need to practice community and radical hospitality. Seeking God is a shared, celebrated experiences. Find a small, diverse, grace-filled communities. To seek his presence is to open our homes, tables, and churches as spaces where people of different stories can meet the living God together.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Where can you help silence the noise of the world and seek God? Share what ways you plan on seeking God.