I was reading this morning from Psalm 31: “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress … But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hand; deliver me. Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.”
That got me thinking about how often the Bible mentions God’s “face.” Throughout scripture, God’s ‘face’ represents the divine presence that signifies protection for those upon whom it shines. We don’t know what God looks like, and I don’t think God has a face in a human sense. So, this isn’t about literal facial features, because the Bible also consistently teaches that God is Spirit. What is the Bible trying to tell us?
Psalm 67 echoes a well-known blessing from the Book of Numbers: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us.”
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24–26)
I think there’s much more to this than being seen, although that’s certainly a part of it. Think about all the things that happen when we turn our face toward someone. We give them our attention. We acknowledge their presence. We signal a sort of relationship. We open ourselves to some kind of encounter, perhaps even conversation. When we turn away from someone, we do just the opposite. We create distance. We signal an unwillingness to engage.
When Scripture says the Lord turns his face toward you, it is saying: You are not ignored. You are not overlooked. You are not beneath God’s notice. You are loved and cared for.
But it does go deeper still. In Scripture, “face” also means presence. To seek God’s face (as in Psalm 27) is to seek not merely his help, but to seek God in a very personal and real way. “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
The blessing in Numbers isn’t merely about God looking at us. It’s about God offering himself. God’s shining face is a sign of relational nearness — God’s willingness to be known by us and his understanding that we need his peace.
To say God turns his face toward us is to say: God is not distant.
God is not abstract. God is not hiding. Perhaps today’s invitation is simple: Where do you need to know that God’s face is turned toward you? In anxiety? In uncertainty about the future?
In quiet faithfulness no one else sees?
Imagine the Lord’s face shining toward you — not critically and not condemning, but gracious and loving. Imagine divine attention resting on you with delight.
You are seen. You are known. You are loved.
Perhaps the final question for Ponderings is this: If God’s face is turned toward you, how might you turn your face toward God? After all, you won’t see God looking in love at you if your back is turned to him.
Think of the warmth you feel on a summer day when you turn your face to the sun. Now imagine what it might feel like to turn your face to God and feel his love: the kind of love that accepts and forgives and protects and offers peace.
“Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
Prayer: Holy God, shine your face upon me, and give me peace. Your face, Lord, I seek. In the name of your Son, I pray, Amen.
