Looking to the Lord

Do you or the people around you need help? Is your first tendency to think you have the answer, or do you look to the Lord?

David was a king over a kingdom. He defeated many enemies in battles including Goliath the giant. However, when he needed an answer, where did he look for help?

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. [1]

He looked not to the hills, but to the One who made the hills, the heavens, and the earth.

“Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us. [2]

David kept on looking to the Lord until he got a response. He wasn’t like “Okay, I’ve given You enough time Lord to respond to my request, and because I don’t see You doing anything, I am going to take matters into my own hands.” No, he humbly waited on the Lord. The Lord has the best solutions for all concerned.

“Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.” [3] Ceaseless reverence towards God yields happiness.

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” [4]

The Apostle Paul had a face-to-face encounter with the risen Lord. The Lord did amazing miracles through him. God used him to write nearly half the New Testament. What was his take on himself and what was his take on God? Did he rest on his laurels? No, he knew that he needed to keep leaning and keep learning. He kept his eyes ever focused on the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. May the Lord help us to do likewise today, during this new week, and always.

[1] Psalm 121:1-2
[2] Psalm 123:1-2
[3] Proverbs 28:14
[4] Philippians 3:13-14