A Wonderful Devotional by Richard Halverson

“I want a God with a face on, “said a little girl to her minister one day–thereby expressing a childlike, nevertheless profound, desire for reality in religion. She was not satisfied with some nebulous, ethereal abstraction for God. She wanted something definite, tangible. She wanted a someone for a God…not a something. Perhaps that is why men do not take God more seriously. They hold a theory about God: Their notion of God is foggy, hazy, remote–and idea that is beyond them with no connection with the everyday. A man wants a God with a face on!

“Who is the God you worship?” I have asked men this question on many occasion. “Tell me about him. What is he like? Where does he dwell? Is he real to you?” Again and again they stop after a few confused mutterings and admit Gos is quite unreal. When pinned down they have little to say. Why should a man bother about God if that is all he means to him?

But consider Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ is God in focus ! In him we see God more clearly, distinctly, sharply, down to earth!… If you want to know what God is like, look at his Son. If you want to hear God, listen to his Son! A man will make no mistake following Christ! Let a man begin with Jesus where ever he must to be honest with himself; let him investigate Jesus all the way. Let him go along with Jesus as far as truth indicates–as far as honest inquiry leads.

He will begin to realize that Jesus is God in focus… You can’t go wrong trusting Christ, following Christ, worshipping Christ! He will lead you to a personal, dynamic experience of God”

My friends sometimes the questions we may have, along with the road ahead, can appear foggy, unclear and out of focus concerning our close and distant plans for the future. But, I have come to know that the unknown with Jesus, is better, and more stable than what I can conjure up or even achieve on my most successful day without Him. In this new year; commit to a new you; a new perspective. Commit to humbling yourself to the fact that you don’t have it all together and that you need guidance, structure, and perhaps a mentor when unraveling and navigating the treacherous terrain ahead. Beloved, have a heart posture, like King David when he chose to rethink his strategy before reclaiming The Ark of the Covenant from the Philistines, after the loss of one of his men. This year, don’t just continue to lose, but choose to turn your losses in to gains when trying again with Jesus. Yes, begin this New Year, as a New YOU, in 2022.

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” –Psalm 37:3,4