What Are You Looking At?
By Dennis Love
McDowell County
Read slowly the words of Psalm 121:1-8. “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help comes from the LORD which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer your foot to be moved, He that keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He that keeps Israel shall neither slumber or sleep. The LORD is your keeper: the LORD is your shade upon your right hand. The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil: He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”
Don’t you just love sitting and looking at the mountains? I recently removed a lot of small trees from the front of my house just to give me a birds-eye view of the mountains. If you have a house with a view of the mountains, then most people envy you. Those hills are big and beautiful. They take your breath away, and I now love sitting on my front porch and taking in the majesty of the mountains. David said that he too loved looking at the hills surrounding Jerusalem. The word “hills” means mountains, or that which is far above us. David knew that his help came from a source that was far above the beauty of his natural eyes. The hills or the beautiful mountains simply reminded David that his help came from a source far above those mountains. The mountains simply reminded David of his great God who is far above us.
Did you know if you put a buzzard in a six-foot square pen, and you left the top of the pen completely open, the buzzard would never attempt to fly out of that pen? Although the entire top of the pen is open, the buzzard will remain a prisoner in that pen. For a buzzard to fly, he needs a running start of about ten to twelve feet. Without this, a buzzard won’t even attempt to escape.
Did you know if you drop a bumblebee into an open jar, he will stay there until he dies? He will never put forth the effort to look up and fly out from the top of the jar. Instead, the bumblebee will persistently buzz around the sides of the jar, and the bottom of the jar, hopelessly looking for a way out. Both the buzzard and the bee will be bound because neither of them will try to escape by simply looking straight look.
Very often in the Christian life, we too are held captive, because we fail to look straight up. Our circumstances and situations surround us and suffocate us. Many times, we look all around us, searching for a way out, when our way out is looking straight up. When life boxes you in or when your circumstances seem to have you bound, look straight up and see your Savior. So, the next time you find yourself looking up at the high ridges and peaks of the mountains, remember that the mountains remind us of the One who is far above us.
I think I will go and sit on my front porch for a while. Hope you will join me today and in the days to come because our help comes from the One who is far above those beautiful and majestic mountains.
_______________________________
Dr. Dennis Love is the Associational Missions Strategist for the Blue Ridge Baptist Association in McDowell County. Dr. Love has been in full-time ministry work for 31 years. He and his wife Vicki have been married for almost 42 years, and they have lived in Marion for almost 8 years. They have two sons, four grandchildren and two step-grandchildren. He can be reached via email at: dlovebrba@yahoo.com
Read more of his Christian news articles here
___________________________________
