April 15 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Even a quick reading of this passage, taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, shows that there are two quite different parts to this psalm. The first part is a song of confidence; the second relates to a hard struggle. Some students think that Psalm 27 really consists of two songs that were later sewn together. This may be, but other explanations are possible. The shift from confidence to struggle is not so strange; in fact, it is typical of those who live their lives with God. Confidence and struggle, praise and fear, are only a breath apart.

In the first part the writer speaks boldly about God because in the second part he struggles with God. We can speak for God only when we have a place where we speak with God. All who are truly great know how to be small before God. We can be strong in public only when we wrestle in private.

Two voices are heard in the poet's prayer struggle. God's command is, "Seek my face." The second voice is an echo of God's voice in the believer's heart: "Thy face, Lord, do I seek."

Prayer is always an answer to an earlier utterance. Prayer is not a human cry into thin air; it is our answer to a Word from the other side— a Word of God.

The command is "Seek my face." The response is "Thy face do I seek." But this is followed immediately by the words "Hide not thy face from me." This is the insistent plea of the seeker who knows that God has every right to turn away from the sinner who seeks him. But the psalmist is encouraged by God's voice. "You have told me to seek. Now allow me to find." Those who find are those who continue to seek.

"Thy face, Lord, do I seek." The purpose of real prayer is not merely to get this or that from God but to have God himself.

REFLECTIONS

How do you go about seeking the face of God in your everyday life?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.