“Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.” (Psalm 40:4 NIV)
Look up. Forty-eight hours ago I finished reading Levi Lusko’s book, Swipe Right and that phrase has been playing on repeat ever since. If my mind was a record there would be a groove in vinyl by now. Look up.
Look up. Don’t look to idols or others but look up! We’ve got to let Jesus fill our vision because we wind up going where we are looking. Curbs, mailboxes and trash cans will attest, when our eyes wander so goes our course. We can’t afford to spend our lives looking at lesser things. Time is short and our mission is urgent. We’ve got to get where we are going and take as many folks with as we can.
I keep thinking about how statistics say I grab my phone 150 times a day. How often to I grab onto God? Our electronic dependency only proves our potential for God dependency. Someone at our preacher meeting said it yesterday; “God’s right there; sometimes we just need to reach out our hand and grab on to His.” And he did so, right there in the hallway. He reached his hand up toward the ceiling and demonstrated his dependence. He said he does this multiple times a day. He might be driving along the road, praying or preaching, but he’ll just reach a hand up and admit he’s in need of divine attention.
What if we, as believers, would raise our hand for help? Isn’t that what we did in school when we had a question, needed assistance or asked for permission? We know how. Why did we stop?
What if we paused our internal or external conversations and looked up 150 times a day? We are so quick to grab our phones for answers, why are we so slow to grab on to our omniscient God? We aren’t afraid to set aside the physical person in front of us for the digital presence in our device, why won’t we include the divine presence also?
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” (Psalm 34:4-5 NIV)
It’s been said that we have an entire generation of folks who spend their lives looking down. How unfortunate, especially when we remember that we go where we are looking. We will only find the help we need when we learn to look up. A failure to look up will produce shame.
Lord, help us remember to look up. Maybe we need a sticker on our phone or chime on our watch, but we need reminding. Retrain our minds, heart and hands to reach for You in all circumstances. We are quick to grab our phones, make us quick to grab on to You. You are our real source of help, knowledge and insight. Straighten our necks, lift our eyes, and set us on the path of life. Amen.