Nudges | These Things | Look Up

I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven. Psalm 123:1

Traffic jams. Angry bosses. Pressure. Demands. Expectations. Failures. When we look around, we can long for a cave to crawl in to. Sometimes, no matter where we turn, another problem looms before us like Mount Everest. Shoving from the side, pounding from the top, shaky beneath our feet… How do we find relief in a world without an OFF switch? If only the universe was a DVD, we could pause it for a while until we catch our breath or figure out what to do. So what does God expect us to do when constant stress surrounds us? It’s as simple as lifting our eyes.

Lifting our eyes to God requires that we turn off distractions and quiet our hearts before Him. It may take a while to calm down enough to recognize where we are, so God will wait until He has our full attention. He then nudges our hearts with reminders of how awesome He is. When we spend time worshiping and recounting His attributes, our hearts settle down. We start remembering the greatness of the One to whom we speak and our problems deflate like a worn-out balloon. Worship is the secret passageway into God’s presence and once there, He gives us His perspective on our worries. As we pour out our troubles, He filters them through His sufficiency and reminds us that He has all the resources we need. As long as we’re looking around, we’re overwhelmed. When we look up, we calm down.

Final Thought:  When everywhere we look is only chaos, we need to look up.

Prayer: You are, O God, enthroned in heaven. My problems don’t overwhelm you. You are working your plan in my life as I submit to your will. You will make all things work together for the good if I trust you with them. I do. Thank you. Amen.