looking up

To you I lift up my eyes,

O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

Psalm 123:1

Sometimes all I can do is look up, because what is going on in my life in the horizontal dimension needs to be understood in the light of God’s rule in the vertical dimension. I am prone to easily confuse the two. That is why I need the Word of God and the Spirit of God to keep me looking up in prayer! I struggle with thinking that the stuff of my life, the people in my life, or the difficulties of my life are all that there is to life. Or I may place the kind of vertical trust that should go only to God on something that is on this earth. And that is why I need to lift my eyes to God in worship, faith, and prayer.

Looking up cures my soul from any improper ruling idolatry. Looking up provides insight. Looking up humbles my “always ready to assert itself” pride. Looking up shows me wisdom that I need. Looking up focuses my soul upon desiring God. Looking up helps me live for the glory of my King enthroned in the heavens, and my Savior at work in my heart.

And so, with proper humility and with repentance, I look to You, my God. You know my need. You know my failures. You know how my foolish soul is prone to wander. And so I trust Your Word as You call me to look to You! Forgive my failings. Forgive my sinful fixations on the temporal and pull me toward a love for Your eternal grace and mercy!

Amen