Turn Towards – June 18, 2022

“The LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:26

Turn Towards

Dr. John Gottman and his wife, Dr. Julie Gottman, are researchers who have spent several decades studying marriage relationships. They have drawn many conclusions, and their conclusions make for powerful reading. Here is one conclusion. For years the conventional wisdom was that a way to deepen your marriage relationship was through a big romantic getaway—a trip to Paris or a Caribbean cruise. Not so, say the Gottmans. While a romantic getaway certainly has its place, the Gottmans have learned that a key to deepening a marriage relationship—or any relationship—lies in the countless moments you have, in their words, to “turn towards” each other.

Throughout the week, couples will give each other what the Gottmans call, “bids for connection.” These “bids for connection” almost always seem quite ordinary. For example, a spouse might say, “I had one crazy day today.” That, say the Gottmans, is a “bid for connection.” It is an opportunity for two spouses to “turn towards” each other in that moment and to share the details of what made the day so crazy.

This need for couples to “turn towards” each other is vital. In their exhaustive research, the Gottmans found that happily married couples turned towards each other two-and-one-half times more often than couples whose marriages ended in divorce.

All of which brings us to God’s attitude towards you and me.

The Lord has his face turned toward you. Not sometimes. Not frequently. The Lord has his face turned toward you always. With you in mind, he came to this earth and became one of us and lived a sinless life as our substitute—the life you and I have failed to live. With you in mind, he carried your wasted moments and mine to the cross and washed them all away.

And today, he continues to turn toward you. He turns toward you through every word of the Bible you read and hear, through every message from him you encounter. He turns toward you at this very moment, in this daily devotion. Spend this day in the comfort and assurance of knowing the Lord’s face is turned toward you.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, when my face is downcast because of doubt or despair, remind me that your face is always turned toward me. Amen.