When Everything is Going Down — LOOK UP!
Psalm 5:3 says: “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”
You know the routine — it happens every morning. First, you wake up. Next, you get up. Why not go ahead and finish the process and LOOK UP. That’s the best way to begin a day. Especially if things around you are on a downward spiral. You can look up when things are going down. Furthermore, you must.
But what are so many of us doing instead? First, you wake up. Then before you get up, grab your smart phone – see what we missed during the night on facebook and other social media sites, check the news and economic sites, get upset about what happened, get up and face the day!
It is a proven fact that a person will head in the direction they are looking. This is literally true, as well as figuratively true. Stop and consider for a moment what it is you spend most of your time “looking” at. Your eyes see it, your mind thinks it, your imagination dwells upon it, your soul desires it — and eventually you do it.
Why not give this pattern a chance to work in ways that matter most?
Look up unto to the Lord in the morning, while your mind is poised and your energies are fresh. Look up, and move up. Hear what He is saying to you, and then see yourself doing what He wants you to do. If you will cultivate this simple practice, this spiritual discipline, you will find yourself doing what Jesus wants you to do.
On the other hand, if you look down and see yourself defeated and depressed — then you will surely spend your day in a pit of despair. Look down; and you will go down. Look up; and you will go UP.
The Bible says in Psalm 34:5: “They looked unto Him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.” Isaiah put it this way in Isaiah 60:4 & 5: “Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.” Your heart shall swell with joy.
One of the most beloved lyrics of all time says it simply the best — “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” (Helen H. Lemmel, 1922)
My dear friend, look up. When everything around you seems to be going down – look up. If you will look up – the Lord will lift you up. So LOOK UP.
I’ll see you at the top!
Prayer: “Lord Jesus, I choose today to look up, to look at You. Even when things are dark around me, with You is the outcome and light. Help me through the Holy Spirit to start each day by looking at You and hearing Your voice. I look with an expectancy to see how You will change my life and give You full permission to do that. This I ask in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”