Look Up
Look up. The reoccurring theme of my last 24 hours.
After traveling over 1,000 miles in 7 days, yesterday I spent 10 hours completely alone at my lake house. (I forced myself.) As I was sitting on my porch, about nine hours in I looked up at the trees above me and the Holy Spirit put in my heart “Sometimes the best way to rest is to just look up.” I thought about the time when King Nebuchadnezzar had been humiliated, everything had been taken from him. He had to just be at the end of his rope and completely exhausted and his response was this “After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to Heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshipped The Most High and honored the One who lives forever.” Daniel 4:34
While I have not been humiliated, while everything I knew has not been taken away.. I in a way am at the end of my rope. I have been so completely blessed by exhaustion that only God’s strength could carry me through. I have been exhausted and God was saying this “Look up to Heaven and your sanity will return. Praise and worship Me, The Most High, and honor Me who lives forever because you do not live forever and you will grow tired. Praise Me!
This morning I jumped right out of bed. Which is so not normal for me, even on a Sunday. The message was about Gideon and how he followed God’s path to be His warrior. #4 was that Gideon looked up when He asked God to send him signs that God was going to use him. Jesus gives the Ultimate Example right before He chooses His disciples recorded in Mark 1:35 “Before daybreak the next morning Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” Jesus here is about to make a big decision and He looks up in prayer for guidance and wisdom. Do you look up when a decision is about to be made? When an action is about to be taken? When a word is about to be said? 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says “Pray without ceasing.” We are to always be looking up. Not just when we need rest, not just when we need assurance, but always, without ceasing. In every decision, every word, every action, every thought, every move. We are to be looking up to God and praying always.
As I went to my sweet friend’s Sunday school class, she was talking about serving the Lord with gladness and to stick with service. Serve others. She said she was at a camp this past week where they did an exercise where they walked around for a certain amount of time just looking up. If my mouth didn’t drop wide open right there, it’s just because I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. She proceeded to recite “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2 We have to lift our eyes unto the hills where our help comes from! She also made the comment as she was demonstrating the looking up exercise that she wanted to look around to see how everyone else was doing and if they were following the rules.
I thought.. Huh, that’s something else you’re trying to teach me. “Look up to Me. Stop comparing, stop worrying about everyone else. Look up to Me. I am Who matters. My Opinion, My Will, My Call, My Love. Anything apart from that is not of Me. Look up!”
Look up for rest. Look up in prayer. Look up for help. Look up and not around.
Look up always. Never ceasing.
– A