Lift up your eyes
by Chelsea Pietsch
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[O]ur eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us (Psalm 123:2b).
Back in 2011, my husband and I had the joy and privilege of travelling to Patmos, Greece. This is where St John received his revelation on the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:9–10). After several days of exploring the island, we packed our backpacks, checked out of our accommodation and made our way down to a café, where we awaited an afternoon ferry to Turkey.
At the time, I made the mistake of giving a small dog a tidbit from our lunch table. Well, from that moment on, this little dog followed me around for hours. His eyes were on me in hopeful anticipation, and his tongue hung out, showing the joy of apparent newfound friendship. I had shown him a bit of mercy, and he was not going to let me out of his sight.
This psalm speaks of lifting one’s eyes to the Lord and not looking away until he has mercy on us. The psalmist uses the analogies of a servant looking to the hand of their master and a maid looking to the hand of her mistress. These are images of people who are utterly dependent on the mercy of someone else for their preservation.
To whom do you turn your gaze for help? To whom do you go when you are in need, run-down or at your wits’ end? The psalmist encourages us not to look to ourselves, nor any ordinary person, habit or thing. The psalmist encourages us to lift our eyes to the very author of the universe, our merciful and benevolent king, the giver of all good things.
Can you lift your eyes now above your computer screen, to the sky, and imagine you are looking into the eyes of Christ enthroned in heaven?
Dear Lord, the eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing (Psalm 145:15,16). Amen.
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