“I WILL LIFT UP MY EYES”
by Pastor Mark Taylor
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence comes my help. My help comes from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” Psalms 121:1-2
Many of us have had the opportunity to see God in the power of the ocean, in the desert, and in the sky. God has given us nature to reflect on His power and greatness.
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and His creation shows His handiwork. Day after day they speak. And night after night they reveal knowledge." (Psalm 19:1-2)
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"The heavens declare the glory of God; and His creation shows His handiwork. Day after day they speak. And night after night they reveal knowledge." (Psalm 19:1-2)
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In order to get the help we need from the Lord, we must lift up our eyes. We have to get them off the problems and the distractions of this world and lift up our eyes to the person who can help us and that is God. We have to focus on things that can bring our thoughts and minds back to God. This should include attending church services where God’s people come to together to worship: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). But there are also other ways to lift our eyes to the Lord. We can listen to Gospel music, watch Christian programming on TV, read our Bible or listen to it read to us on tapes or CDs, and read Christian books by Christian authors. We have many ways available to help us turn our minds and hearts back to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We really have no excuse to let our days go by without thinking about and communicating with God.
David said “I will”. We must act on our free will to come to God. It cannot be only the inspiration of another’s experience that we should draw strength from. It has to come from within ourselves and we must say “I will”. I choose to turn away from human reason and negative thinking. I choose to look to God and what he has already done. He has done many marvelous acts of creation. He has helped me before. He has helped many people who have called on Him. So “I will” look to Him.
You may have to go to the mountains, or to the beach, or to a secluded area to find time to be with the Lord. It is difficult to have uninterrupted time in our busy lives. But you have to be willing to lift up your eyes unto the Lord in order to see Him. You can do this in the early morning or late evening when you have some quite time. “Evening and morning, and at noon, I will pray and cry aloud; and He shall hear my voice” (Psalms 55:17).
God is waiting to hear from you and have your attention. He has help for you and a solution to your problems. But you have to be “willing” to go to Him: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Secondly, we must understand that our “help comes from the Lord”. He gives us wisdom to make good decisions and know His will. But again we have to ask and seek for His will: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). And “.. you have not because you ask not” (James 4:2). God is not to busy to hear your request. Nothing is too small or unimportant to God if it is a burden to you.
Finally, realize that the Lord you love and serve, and the one that loves you is the same one “which made heaven and earth”. When you look at the mountains, waves, or waterfalls, you see the majesty of His creation. If you think about how large the universe is or how complex the microscopic world is, you can begin to see how great our God is. The thing that is so amazing is that someone as powerful as God is would care for someone like us. We have God’s attention. The problem is whether or not He has our attention.
We need to remove ourselves from the busy world that we live in and spend some time “lifting our eyes to the hills from where our help comes”. This can take the form of an early morning devotional time, or a quiet time in the evening without the TV or radio, or a prayer in your car on the way to work.
Remember God is waiting to hear from you!!
“Call unto me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you know not” (Jeremiah 33:3).
“I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your
loving-kindness and for Your truth's sake; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name. In the day when I cried You answered me and made me bold with strength in my soul” (Psalms 138:2-3).
“This poor man cried, and the LORD heard, and saved him out of all his troubles. The Angel of the LORD camps round about those who fear Him, and delivers them. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him” (Psalms 34:6-8).
