” 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore”
Psalm 121 ESV
I’ll never forget one of my first driving lessons out on the open road. Hands sweating, heart pounding, I just wanted the car to go from point A to point B without getting T-boned. Is that so much to ask?!? It wasn’t parallel parking or highway driving that had me nervous, but going around large curves in the bend. There was a huge winding turn near my house and the amount of accidents, injuries and deaths over the years were enough to make me antsy about how to drive on a road that took me everyday to town, work, church and everything in-between. The more I focused on the road at the nose of my car, the more given I was to skidding and swerving. My driving instructor told me to lift my focus and lean into the arc ahead in the road, when I did, it revolutionized my driving. When I didn’t, the angst returned. Lifting my eyes, caused me to quit micromanaging the nose of the car and instead lean into the turn gradually. I had to remind myself to do this every time I drove through a large bend in the road, until it became habit and habit melted into second nature. Being overwhelmed by one step ahead didn’t help, but looking where I wanted to go caused everything in me, including the car to fall in line.
It’s pretty sound advice.
For the longest time, I have loved Psalm 121. It has reached out to me in countless ways over the years to exhort me to lift my eyes, and change my focus. I love the history, significance and richness behind it, hopefully it will help you too. Nomadic people often looked to the high places to be warned of incoming danger as they sojourned through an area, looking up meant they were aware of what was coming. Other commentary suggests it could be a reference to the Asherah poles that were used for idol worship, and a personal reminder to worship God alone. The Lord was the one to look to for support, Ashera poles ultimately offered nothing. I love where the focus is finally placed in the journey: on the Lord. As this chapter moves along it reminds the writer, and ourselves as the readers of all the ways that God comes through on our passage through life. It begs the question in me: does lifting our eyes really do the trick or is it the discipline of choosing where to place your focus and your hope?
I think as we read all the way through the obvious answer builds on itself:
-He is the one who gives and is the source of our help (vs. 1-2)
-He holds our steps, and he’s not falling asleep on the job (vs. 3-4)
-He accompanies you on your journey and will serve as your shade (vs. 5-6)
-He guards us from evil and watches over our life (vs. 7)
-He keeps us as we come and go, wherever we go, forever. (vs.8)
When we think back on moments in our lives- the good, bad, ugly, mountain tops and challenges….I think an invaluable question to ask is: Are the circumstances setting our focus, or are we? Are we more inclined to be optimistic because “things are looking up” or are we “feeling down” and therefore focused on all things negative. I can’t help but think of how invaluable the difference was a newbie driver to intentionally set my focus. When I did, I could take the upcoming turns and bends in the journey until it became second nature. I think there’s invaluable insight if we’re willing to heed the advice: when we lift our focus to the only one who can help us, we train our eyes and hearts to look to the greatest of source of hope and help: God himself.
Much love,
Joy