Look Up
God has brought Psalm 121 to me several times over the last six months, also bringing deeper understanding along the way. At the end of this six months, my husband and I ended up in Banff, Alberta, Canada in the midst of the Canadian Rockies. The picture above is from our trip. Mountains were surrounding us everywhere on every side and we could not help but look around at them; we could not help but LOOK UP.
The first two verses of Psalm 121 encourage us to LOOK UP. Psalm 121:1-2 New American Standard Bible says:
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
In verse 1, the psalmist is making a choice to lift his eyes up. He says “I will” which indicates a definite choice that he is making. Yes, it is our choice where our eyes look. We can choose to look at our circumstances or we can choose to look up. We live in a broken, sin-filled, hard and difficult world. I don’t know about you, but when I choose to look at my circumstances, it often makes me feel discouraged. If I choose to look up, to focus on Jesus, to lift my eyes to Him instead, it always encourages me.
Jesus is our example. He went through some very difficult trials including torture and death on the cross in order to save us, but Jesus was looking beyond His present trials. Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB says (italics mine):
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We are instructed to FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS. I always cheer up when I fix my eyes on Him. When I set my eyes on encumbrances and sin, I am taking my eyes off Him. Jesus focused on the “joy set before Him” in order to endure the cross. What joy was it that He set His eyes on? It was the joy of sitting at the right hand of the Father- the joy of being right next to the Father again. Likewise, when we fix our eyes on Jesus, we can endure the trials that we go through while living in this imperfect place called earth. If we trust in Jesus as our savior, we too have the joy of knowing we will live in HIS PRESENCE with Him in heaven throughout eternity.
So it really matters where we focus our eyes! Where we focus our eyes, will indicate where our help comes from. In verse 2 of Psalm 121, we are reminded that OUR HELP COMES FROM THE LORD. So I find that if I am looking at my circumstances, my trials around me, I am trying to fix things myself. I am then relying on my own way to figure things out, rather than looking to God for His solutions or even just for His presence to comfort me. When we choose to look at God instead of circumstances, Psalm 42:5b NASB reminds us:
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.
Yes, our hope is in God and we have the GREAT HELP of HIS PRESENCE whenever we need it. And why do we look to God for help? The psalmist tells us it’s because God is the Creator of heaven and earth. Do we really need any other reason? Sometimes when we ask for help, we forget who God is. We forget that He spoke the world into existence with HIS WORD. Recently my husband and I visited the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum in Kentucky. This visit reminded us even more of just what a wonderful and utterly magnificent Creator we have!
So moms, when you are in the midst of your trials, don’t forget to
LOOK UP TO GOD FOR YOUR HELP, FOR HE’S THE CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH!
In His Love,
Suzanne
Mom Morsels 