On My Face

I talk to God a lot.   I’m pretty honest with Him—seems pointless not to be.  I ask questions.  I give Him suggestions.  I argue my case.  Sometimes I get angryI think God welcomes real conversation, questions, emotions, concerns.  He is definitely not threatened by me.But of course I have never seen God face to face.  Probably I could learn a little from some who have had personal encounters.Look at God’s instruction to Moses: "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5)And notice these responses to the holiness of God:Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD.  (2 Chronicles 20:18)In the year that King Uzziah died, I (Isaiah) saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;the whole earth is full of his glory."                                                                       At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (Isaiah 6:1-5) While he was saying this to me, I (Daniel) bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. (Daniel 10:15) I (John) turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned … among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.  His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.  "In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.” (Revelation 1:12-17)Shaking and smoke?  Speechless?  As though dead?  I haven’t experienced that.These are just a few. Throughout Scripture the holiness of God causes people to fall on their faces.Maybe I need to join with Job:Then Job replied to the LORD:  “I know that you can do all things;no purpose of yours can be thwarted.You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,things too wonderful for me to know.  “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;I will question you,and you shall answer me.’My ears had heard of youbut now my eyes have seen you.  Therefore I despise myselfand repent in dust and ashes.”  (Job 42:1-6)Lord, may I live less in Your face, and more on my face.© 2011 Judy Douglassen español: Sobre Mí Rostro