I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.– Psalms 121:1-2
I’ve had the habit of walking with my head down since I was a little boy. My mother used to say,”I can tell it’s Harold David coming down the road a mile away. He always walks with his head down”. I didn’t see that as a problem–I was looking for stuff! But, there is a sense in which looking downward is a very big problem. And there’s a lot of folks guilty of it. They are always focused on things below, rather than things above; the soil, rather than the stars; burdens rather than blessings; earthly problems rather than heavenly prospects.
The Psalmist was wiser than that. Rather than focusing on his miseries he looked to the mountains, for there he saw the handiwork of God and was reminded of His great power. He knew God was the source of his help. Looking to God rather than his grief he found a sense of safety that provided him peace and joy. Hopefully we will learn from him. Far too many of us are miserable because we are in the habit of walking with our head down, rather than looking up. We see nothing but problems, instead of looking to God and seeing provisions.
Fortunately some have discovered the secret to contentment. They keep their head up and their eyes on God. They look to God’s Word for comfort, confidence, and courage. And as their vision of His greatness increases the size of their doubts and fears decreases. On many occasions I’ve watched dogs on a cold day move out of the shadows into the sunshine so as to soak up the warm rays of the sun– we should be so wise. By keeping ourselves in the sunshine of God’s precious promises we find warmth and comfort in this cold hard world in which we live.
The Psalmist looked “unto the hills”, not at the valleys.Mountains are pictures of strength and stability, reminding us of what God is to us. So, whatever challenge you are confronted with today, remind yourself that “help cometh from the LORD”. With Him nothing is impossible. Shift your focus from your difficulty, depression, defeat, danger, etc. to the Lord. Take the up-look and you will have a new out-look.
