“Seek Yahweh and His might;

Continually discover His face.”

(Psalm 105:4)

Many of our English translations are not helpful in seeing the continuity of this verse. There are two Hebrew verbs that are used in conjunction with one another. The first is the verb דרשׁ (darash) and the second is בקשׁ (baqash). Both words can be used to communicate the notion of seeking out something and thus, our English translators typically see the two halves of this verse as being in parallel with one another…the second intensifying the first as it is in the Piel stem (a continually repeated action). Yet, when these verbs are used together, as is found in Psalm 24:6, it can communicate the notion of seeking and then finding. That changes the thrust of what the psalm is telling us.

Thus, in seeking Yahweh and His might, what is the result for our lives (remembering that only the believer seeks for God)? The result is that we continually will see His face as we go to the Scriptures (for where else does one seek God?). And yes, the second verb is in the Piel stem, so it is a repeated action. As we commit ourselves to a life of seeking out God, His presence (symbolized by His face) will be constantly with us. We will perceive His hand at work.

Surely, seeing God’s hand is easier when things are good, but God’s hand is still at work even when things are falling apart in our lives. That is why we are not simply to seek God in an abstract sense, but we are to also seek out His strength, that way we may face the horrors this life brings upon us as men and women of faith. Does not God say to the Apostle Paul, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9)?

We may be tempted to say, “but my situation is different!” Is it? Is it really that different than what has been faced through the ages? It was this same grace of God that sustained Adam and Eve when their older son murdered the younger. It was that same grace that sustained Noah when his youngest son defiled him. It was that same grace that sustained Abraham when he was instructed to take his beloved son, Isaac, onto the mountain to sacrifice him. It was the same grace that sustained Jacob when he realized his youngest son, Joseph was lost and it was that grace that sustained Joseph even though his brothers had betrayed him. It was the same grace that sustained Moses when his own brother and sister sought to usurp his authority and it was the same grace that caused him to keep his peace when he learned he would not enter the promised land. It was the grace that sustained Job when his sons and daughters, his servants, and his wealth was stripped from him in a single day. 

In the end, we can walk generation through generation and see God’s hand sustaining his people through some of the greatest heartaches that can be known to man. Yes, my friend, your life may not be going the way you planned. Your world may be falling apart. God’s grace is sufficient strength for you. Seek God and His strength — they can ultimately be found in His Scriptures — and He will draw near to you continually with grace that is sufficient for you.