Living in Arizona, we are blessed with a law that doesn’t allow for neighborhoods to have street lights. There are merely lights on each house to see where they are. This was a stark difference for me having grown up in New Jersey where street lights were what told you when it was time to go inside in the summer time. The advantage of not having street lights is the AMAZING star show we enjoy every night. In our neighborhood (which is further from town), when it is a full moon, we can sit in our backyard with no lights on and see clearly as coyote and other desert animals begin their evening routine.
This is a beautiful picture of how God guides us. When we are in a dark time and don’t know the direction, we simply have to lift our eyes to Him, and He delights in guiding us! In the Psalm readings for today, there are several references to lifting our eyes for help. Psalm 121:1 says “I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?”
Psalm 123:1 also says, “I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven.” As I gave into the desert night sky, as I often do here, I am constantly amazed that the God who created all those stars, knows every hair on my head (Matthew 10:30). It reminds me that if He was able to create and name every one of those stars and galaxies and cause them to orbit one another with exact precision as to not destroy each other or us, then He certainly can handle my situation. And, He certainly can handle yours!
Matthew 5:3 says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” The reference here to being poor in spirit is compared to a beggar hunched down, looking up, asking for money or help. I have been blessed to never have to beg like this but the illustration is one of great humility. It is a last resort of many to become beggars and have to hunch down looking up to others for help. When I was in my early 20s, I went through a physical challenge in my life where I had difficulty walking and doing physical tasks. I had to constantly ask others for help. As a person with an independent personality, this was really hard and humbling for me. So often, we are like that with God. We are at our lowest point and being broken and all we have left is to lift our eyes and ask for His help.
Our Father, is such a loving Daddy (Abba) that He takes delight in us asking for help. He greatly enjoys His children looking to Him as their deliverer. I have three kids and two of them are only 2 1/2 years old. Their communication is just developing. I know when they want drinks or food but I DELIGHT when they come and ask me. My son, the youngest, will come close and illustrate that he needs help with his shoes. To me, it is so simple but to him, it requires total dependence on me, his mother. The same is true of our Heavenly Father. He so desires an intimate relationship with us that he takes joy in helping us through those dark times. He didn’t have to make the moon reflect the sun yet He chose to. I often think to remind us that He is our light no matter what the circumstance we go through.
Psalm 124:8 says, “Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” The one who made both the Heaven and the Earth is our help. It is so encouraging to me to know that when I feel there is no way out or I am totally overwhelmed, I can lift my eyes to the maker of heaven and earth and suddenly, I am redirected to WHO is my help. I don’t have to do it alone. In the darkness, there is a light guiding me through.
Today, my prayer for you is that you too know where your help comes from. That you are able to muster the strength to lift your eyes to the maker of heaven and earth. I also pray that your relationship with Him is one of such close intimacy that you can lift not only your eyes, but your hands to Him crying “Daddy, Daddy (Abba, Abba)” so that HE may lift you up. Your hope truly is in the Lord!
Psalm 125:1 “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mt.Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.”
Lord, I lift my eyes to you today. Be my rescue, my strength. I ask that you make me unshakable like Mt. Zion. I surrender my will and my way to yours. Help me. Walk as my light through this dark time and graciously allow others to see that light as well.
Tricia Short, an original Jersey Girl, and her husband, Paul, live in Vail, Arizona where they are both pastors at a Vineyard church and oversee Unseen Ministries – A touring youth and young adult conference (unseenministries.com).She attended Delanco Camp as a teenager where the many encounters with the Lord there helped shaped the love relationship she has with the Him today. Image credit: By Andy from Pittsburgh, via Wikimedia Commons.Â
