“David boldly declared, ‘For I
shall yet praise Him, the help [health] of my countenance”’ (Psalm
42:11). And he repeats the same statement in Psalm 43:5. In the original
Hebrew, the proper rendering of both these verses is, ‘God
is the salvation of my face!’
I believe David is saying something
important here. You see, your face is a billboard that advertises what’s going
on in your heart. All the joy or turmoil that’s inside you is reflected in your
countenance. When I speak of countenance, I am talking about facial expression,
body language, tone of voice.
For example, when my mind is loaded
down with the cares of our church—sermons, finances, relationships—I have a
tendency to slouch. I look preoccupied. My brow is furrowed. Some people even
tell me I look sad.
One day I was walking along 52nd Street
near Hannah House, totally absorbed with church business and probably slouched
over. I came upon a crack house where a woman sat on the stoop, smiling from
ear to ear. I could see she was high on crack. She watched me approaching and
as I got nearer she spoke up, ‘Mister, it can’t be that bad.’
I was flabbergasted! I thought, ‘Here
is this woman, high on crack, and here I am, a man of God. She’s smiling and
looking good and I’m slouched over, as if all hope is gone.’ What a rebuke it
was to me!
I thank God for His great salvation—for
redeeming our soul, our spirit, even our body. But many of us need to get our
faces saved! We need a Holy Ghost face-lift—because our faces are giving the
wrong message to the world!
One young woman came into Hannah House
with lines of sin etched deeply in her face. Her countenance was extremely
hard. Yet, two weeks after she was saved, no one could believe the change. I
didn’t even recognize her.
Why such a change of countenance? ‘A
man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the sternness of his face is changed’ (Ecclesiastes
8:1).
I take ‘wisdom’ in this verse to mean
Jesus Christ. Indeed, the very presence of Christ in your heart has a direct
impact on your face! It affects your walk, your talk, the very tone of your
voice.”
by David Wilkerson (1/
9/ 12)
[May 19,
1931 – April 27, 2011]
|
“The
Christian who neglects the Holy Spirit is like a lamp that’s not plugged in.” Our Daily Bread
(10/11/11)
jowildflowers@gmail.com jean-oathout.blogspot.com Tomorrow’s post:
THE
BEAUTY OF ROMANTIC LOVE by Sharon Jaynes
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