The Invitation

by Sarah Oshinowo

It was 6:00am. Joy, my energetic 2 year old, came bursting into my room, slamming the door and climbing into my bed to cuddle.

            “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy...”
            “Yes, Joy...” I replied, my eyes still closed in a groggy attempt to wake up.
            “No, Mommy!! Look at my face!”

In the next moment, I heard the Spirit say: “My heart says of You, ‘Seek His face.’ Your face, Lord, I will seek.  ~Psalm 27:8

Have you been sensing the invitation to seek the face of Jesus in a fresh way lately? Maybe this invitation has felt like an unexpected jolt out of physical or spiritual slumber...or maybe it’s been a quiet, but undeniable pressing in your spirit to hide away in the secret place?

The writer of Psalm 27 was in the midst of a siege, desperately needing God to come through for him. Rather than asking God to remove the trial, he chose to ground himself in the presence of God. He understood that in doing so, he would be set upon a rock, to confidently wait to see the goodness of God in the land of the living.

The invitation in verse 8, in the original Hebrew words, is a beckoning to a diligent and earnest search for His favor and His presence in the midst of all that life brings our way. This search requires our agreement--our “yes”. And with that: surrender, active participation, a willing heart, diligence, discipline, teachability, humility, and patience.

One commentator writes:
By the very make of our own spirits He calls us to Himself. Our restlessness, our
yearnings, our movings about as aliens in the midst of things seen and visible, all these bid us turn to Him in whom alone our capacities can be satisfied, and the hunger of our souls appeased.  ~MacLaren Expositions of Holy Scripture

As we transition away from the holidays and begin this fast together, His invitation still stands. His presence is and will always be sufficient. Let’s enter in with Him and find Him faithful.