Face Plants Are Necessary

“And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,” (Ge 17:3 AV)

 

Abraham is an impressive person.  Perhaps the most impressive of all Old Testament patriarchs.  Abraham had a relationship with God that few have ever matched.  Abraham completely trusted the LORD and walked with Him in complete fear.  He reverenced the LORD like no other.  When it came to choosing the LORD over everyone else, including his wife, Abraham chose the LORD every time.  What we notice above is the result of the horror of darkness he experienced in chapter fifteen.  He learned through that experience that God is in complete control.  At that moment, he was completely and wholly focused on God with no other person or input present.   It was he and God alone.  The evidence of Abraham’s stricken heart of worship is his position while approaching God.  He fell on his face.  And because he did, the LORD talked with him.

There is something about a face plant that brings laughter to others.  Not that we necessarily laugh at the misfortune of others, but a face plant is something that brings a giggle.  My dog does these face-plants all the time.  He loves to run, jump on a couch against the back of it, and get thrown off that couch by kinetic energy into another couch.  Back and forth he goes, bouncing off one couch and jumping onto another.  Toby needs to get a running start.  However, he doesn’t always judge the jump just right.  Sometimes, the hair on his paws is a bit long and he cannot get the right traction.  So, from time to time, he plants his neck or face into the side of the couch.  We laugh because he has no pride to hurt.  No ego in a dog.  A person is different.  If a person face plants, it is always embarrassing.  There is something about one’s face on the ground that is humiliating.  It is embarrassing and often the greatest hurt is not the nose or chin, but one’s pride.

When Abraham does a face plant on purpose, he is showing the greatest humility one could show.  He has prostrated himself before almighty God in the most humbling manner which comes to mind.  And I like what follows.  “And God talked with him…”   How many of us could say the same thing?  How many could claim that God talked with them?  We should all be able to.  But let’s face it.  More times than we care to admit, we go to God in a less than humble way.  Our independent spirit and pride will forget the part humility plays in talking with God.  We will not, or forget to do, a face plant.  Not literally, but in our hearts.  We go to God without first taking a few minutes to get into the right frame of mind and heart.  Our discussions with God are cordial and friendly.  But how often do we go to God in the same way which Abraham did above?  We need an old-fashioned face plant every time we go to God no matter how humiliating it might be.