The Lord Lift Up His Countenance Upon You

Meditations for Ragamuffins

August 2, 2023

The Lord Lift Up His Countenance Upon You 

“The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:25-26 (NRSV)

After interviewing a man, Abraham Lincoln told his secretary, “I don’t like that man’s face!” His secretary immediately responded, “But that’s his face! He’s not responsible for his face.” To which Lincoln replied, “After forty every man is responsible for his face.”

Coach Bill McCartney, the founder of Promise Keepers, said that he could look at a woman’s countenance and know whether her husband was a Christian and loved her well. The coach was making the same observation as Mr. Lincoln: our face is a mirror to our soul and reflects the mood of our heart. Mr. Lincoln believed that after forty years of living, a person should have sufficient maturity to control their emotions and become master of their moods. According to Mr. Lincoln’s schedule, some days it seems like I am thirty-six years past due.

But I am not the Lone Ranger! Brennan Manning wrote a reflection on Proverbs 15:15, “For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast” after someone asked him, “Why are you in such a rotten mood?” Apparently, his face was a window to his soul. In my journey with Christ, I am being drawn to spend more time in contemplative prayer to allow the Holy Spirit opportunities to synchronize my outward emotions and facial expressions with the inner truth of my “real life (that) is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

My Takeaway: I have found the wonderful benediction of Numbers 6:24-26 is a great place to camp out and spend quality time with the Lord:

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26 (NRSV)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.