*Make Your Face Shine upon Us*

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2  that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3  Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5  Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

6 The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
7  God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!

Waking up Thursday morning was difficult.  I was tired in my body and disappointed in my heart.  For weeks I had been praying for jobs, one for my Dad, one for a friend, one for me.  Nothing was changing.  It was wearying to hear of one more application filled out, another interview to attend,  or one last resume to send, all without fruitful results.  I opened my Bible to gain some kind of encouragement, and this was the chapter that was my portion for devotion that day.  I was just struck at how beautifully bold it was.  Look how David says that the earth notices the power of God when He answers our calls for blessing.  Selah that-- it's insane! 

God, in order to show Himself great, decides to bless us.  So why am I afraid of asking Him?  He wants us to ask Him for His favor because His blessings show His glory.  It's one more crazy way He reveals Himself to us and to those who don't fear Him (which sometimes overlap).   Welp, I decided that I wanted to call down God's blessings on my life and the lives of my loved ones, so I sat and rejoiced in the many, multiple ways God has given grace to me, and I prayed for even more to come.

Less than an hour passes and I call my mom to check on something.  I'm hanging up when I hear her say, "Oh,  yeah! Dad got a job yesterday!" W h a t ? ?  While I was reading David's cry for us to ask more of God's favor, my dad was beginning his first day of work. How incredible are the blessings of Jesus?!

As I rode the train into the city, I received two phone calls.  They were tutoring agencies asking if I would be willing to come in for an interview... it was hard to keep from laughing out loud in the midst of strangers... then, around late afternoon, I received a text letting me know that the friend I had been praying for (Ben) had just got his dream job! 

I was struck at the holiness of God's bounty.  It is a humbling thing to be in the midst of such grace as He gives, and the last verse of this psalm came back to my mind:  "God SHALL bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear Him."  There is a wonderful terror at seeing the hand of the Lord touch your world, and I am reminded yet again to stop looking at my circumstances, and start focusing once more on my Savior.  

The Lord is not slack concerning the things He has promised; He will not forsake His own; His hand is not too short to save.