Recovering from Ruins – Part 2

Seek God’s face

In part 1, we learned that one of the steps we can take towards recovering from ruins is to encourage ourselves in the Lord. We saw that David’s encouragement was not inspired by those around him but from his knowledge and understanding of God. In other words, his encouragement came from the inside, not the outside. After David encouraged himself in the Lord, the next major decision he took was to seek God’s face; “So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?…” (1 Samuel 30:8). Before David sought the face of God, he asked Abiathar the priest for the Ephod (1 Samuel 30:7). The Ephod was an apron worn by the High Priests to protect their clothing during oracular purposes and duties. There are several schools of thought as to the exact makeup and purposes of the Ephod. However, under the old covenant, the children of Israel made inquiry of the Lord through the Priest. David followed this template; he asked for the Ephod (a garment associated with the office of the High Priest) thereby seeking God’s face through the help of the Priest. Under the new covenant, we have the Holy Spirit to help us. Jesus our great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16) promised us the help of the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-17). The Holy Spirit is to comfort us and direct our hearts to the answers we need. The Holy Spirit can reveal all truth to us and tell us what is to come.

In all the decisions David had taken shortly before now, this was the first time he sought the face of God. When we are faced with situations where our joy is short-lived or where we experience loss of any kind, seeking the face of God about our situation is always the right step to take. Many of us react the way I did when I experienced the loss I shared in part 1, we occupy our minds with the words of others and get worried over what people will say or think of us. The word of God should be exalted above every other word or thought. Human wisdom, opinion, and counsel are good but they can’t replace the word of God. It doesn’t matter who they come from, seeking God’s face by yourself will always yield better results than what any man can offer you. Of course, God can and will often use men to speak to us about our situation but our default inquiry mode shouldn’t be to seek men before seeking God’s face. When we seek God’s face, we are seeking truth and it shouldn’t matter if we like the answers or not as long as we are seeking the truth. When we seek God’s face, we are strengthened by His strength.

"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always" (Psalm 105:4, NIV)

David wanted to know from God if there was hope for recovery. David needed to know if going into the camp of the enemy will yield any positive outcome. Before we make decisions, some of us research and consult every resource available to man but God. We read every expert’s advice and opinion but we do not care about the opinion of God.

There will be times when we are not motivated, there will be times when loyalists and friends will turn against us, and there will be times when we feel defeated. When we seek His face at such times, His strength will carry us through. Share on X

As you seek solutions and as you seek the path towards recovering from your ruins, leverage every resource at your disposal but never neglect the word of God because God is the most important in our affairs. If you are worried or weighed down by the thought of going back to the drawing board, or getting another degree, or doing that business again, or making that trip a second time or knocking on that door again, or starting that project all over, seek God’s face because He has the right answer for you. When you seek His face, seek to hear Him speak to you. The Holy Bible has passages that tell us exactly what God thinks of us and about us. It is filled with His promises and divine wisdom. God replied David; “…Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.” (1 Samuel 30:8).

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm —my great army that I sent among you (Joel 2:25).

The word of God gives peace, courage, and confidence. The word of God gives us hope for recovery. God promised David full recovery of everything he and his men had lost. If and when we experience loss of any kind, we can count on the word of God to set us on a path to recovery and victory if indeed we are interested in His word. As much as we put other physical efforts towards recovering from ruins, we should invest in prayers and searching the scriptures for the mind of God. There may be times when we will not be motivated to carry on, there may be times when no one can motivate us, there may be times when loyalists and friends will turn against us, and there may be times when we feel defeated by so many questions we can’t answer. My hope and prayer is that at such times, may the Holy Spirit give us the grace and strength to seek God’s face truthfully and faithfully. You can recover all and you will recover from your ruins, seek God’s face! 

Follow up Part 3 of this topic.