Shining Faces

Two nights ago we prayed a prayer we often pray. Really often – often enough I may have posted it before somewhere. But it bears repeating.

Heavenly Father,

The Japanese poet Basho wrote:

A world of grief and pain
Flowers Bloom
Even then.

But its more than that.Verse 4 of #34B in the Psalter says:

Encircling those who fear the LORD
His angel camps, and rescues them.
O taste and see the LORD is good;
How blessed are those who trust in Him.

Sometimes we have felt rather like the Israelites in the Exodus with nothing but a cloud between them and the Egyptians. But even in those times there is still the sweet taste of Your goodness.

We taste Your goodness in sunsets and sunrises, lakes and rivers, the fragrance and color of the flowers everywhere - all revealing to us Your invisible qualities:  Your eternal power and divine nature.

We taste Your goodness as we sing the thought provoking old hymns and, of course, the Psalms. And as we search our Bibles, meditating and praying through the promises we realize that you are very, very good to us.

We hope someday many people will say when they look at us:

How radiant those who looked to Him!
Their faces free from shame shall be.
The LORD heard when this poor man cried,
And from all trouble set him free.      - 34B verse 3

We want to be radiant! We want to feel Your face shining on us!

In the name of Jesus we pray,

Amen

Then yesterday this photo came up in my Facebook memories. I’m smiling – almost shining. And yet that was the very time when we felt there was only a cloud between us and “the Egyptians.”

I have never been so frightened in my life, and for so long. I hope never, ever to be that frightened again!

And yet even then God’s face did shine on us!

Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend...

Proverbs 27:10