May 22, 2024

Setting My Face Like a Flint

By Steve Hearts

Are you facing an uncertain future because of numerous things that are up in the air? Maybe there’s flux and change going on in your job or ministry, in your family, or in other aspects of your life. Perhaps people around you are making or about to make decisions with consequences that will affect you directly, and you’re unsure how to handle those consequences.

I’ve dealt with uncertainty like this, and when facing such situations, I’ve found it can be challenging to discipline my thoughts, so they don’t go running to and fro like wild horses, imagining all the maybes, what-ifs, etc. One scripture that has really helped me tame my thoughts in times like these is Isaiah 50:7: “Therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.”

As I meditated on this verse, the Holy Spirit showed me that setting my face like a flint means to keep my eyes fixed on Him and His wonderful promises, instead of the uncertainty around me and all the tumultuous thoughts that accompany it. A definition found on a Bible commentary site explains, “Flint is a hard rock. To ‘set one's face like flint’ is a figure of speech implying resolute determination.”¹

A few days ago, I went for a walk with my brother on a trail near our house. It had been quite some time since we’d gone there to walk, and I was glad for this opportunity to be outdoors since most of my time is spent indoors, including exercise time. During this walk, the Lord made this lesson of setting my face like a flint extremely clear. As a bit of background, here’s a little description of what these walks are like for me since I’m blind.

Throughout this trail that we walk on, there are various landmarks I can guide myself with using the cane. In some spots there is grass on either side of the road, which I touch with the cane while staying on the sidewalk in the middle. In others there are poles, driveways, etc. What is most important is that my brother walks several yards ahead of me, and I have to really listen to the sound of his footsteps, which aren’t very loud but can be heard well enough if I concentrate. He verbally directs me when necessary, but I mostly guide myself by hearing his footsteps.

A lot of times during those walks, I’ll come upon other folks with loud voices or barking dogs. There are also spots close to the street, where the loud sounds of varying types of vehicles can be heard. The first few times I walked this trail, these noises would totally confuse me and throw me off, making me unsure about my sense of direction. But the more we walked here, the more I got used to simply concentrating on the landmarks I was following with my cane, and also listening to the sound of my brother’s footsteps ahead of me. I came to find that even when things would get noisy, if I listened closely enough, choosing to ignore the sounds around me, I always heard the sound of my brother’s footsteps.

The Lord showed me that this is the way I should deal with the situations going on around me and the thoughts they trigger. While I do what can and should be done on a practical basis to deal with the things I’m facing, my primary point of concentration has to be the Lord and His Word.

I have to set my face or my mind on it like a flint, refusing to entertain anything contrary. This can also mean continuing in the direction He is leading me, without being swayed or deterred by what others choose to do. I remember Jesus’ words to Peter: “What is that to you? You follow Me” (John 21:22).

Flint, a very hard, dark rock, is used figuratively in the Bible to express hardness, as in the firmness of horses’ hoofs (Isaiah 5:28), the toughness of an impossible task (Deuteronomy 8:15; Psalm 114:8), and the inflexibility of unwavering determination (Ezekiel 3:8–9). Set your face like flint is the figure of speech the prophet uses to describe the Messiah’s unwavering determination to persevere in the excruciating task set before Him. …

Staying on track in the Christian life requires setting our faces like flint. The apostle Paul teaches us to run the race with our eyes on the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24–27). Paul set his face like flint to finish his course: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12–14).—GotQuestions.org²

No matter how much we know or don’t know about what lies ahead, we do have Jesus’ promise from John 10:4: “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”

While each of us, as members of Christ’s body, may be on our own individual journeys of spiritual growth, we are all being led by the same good shepherd, Jesus. If we set our faces like a flint, beholding His face and hearing His voice, we will never be lost or ashamed.

¹ https://www.compellingtruth.org/face-like-flint.html

² https://www.gotquestions.org/face-like-flint.html

Posted in: change, following god, guest contribution, perseverance