Week 23: Look Up!

This week's Bible reading plan is as follows:

* Sunday: 2 Samuel 20:14-21:22; Acts 1:1-26; Psalm 121:1-8; Proverbs 16:18
* Monday: 2 Samuel 22:1-23:23; Acts 2:1-47; Psalm 122:1-9; Proverbs 16:19-20
* Tuesday: 2 Samuel 23:24-24:25; Acts 3:1-26; Psalm 123:1-4; Proverbs 16:21-23
* Wednesday: 1 Kings 1:1-53; Acts 4:1-37; Psalm 124:1-8; Proverbs 16:24
* Thursday: 1 Kings 2:1-3:2; Acts 5:1-42; Psalm 125:1-5; Proverbs 16:25
* Friday: 1 Kings 3:3-4:34; Acts 6:1-15; Psalm 126:1-6; Proverbs 16:26-27
* Saturday: 1 Kings 5:1-6:38; Acts 7:1-29; Psalm 127:1-5; Proverbs 16:28-30

Scripture: Psalm 121:2, 3
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.

Observation:
These verses emphasize the fact that God and God alone is the One who helps us through life. In verse 1, the Psalmist asks whether his help comes from the distant mountains. It is not uncommon for us to look to "the horizon" for help – in other words, to look for help on the earthly, horizontal plane. When our focus is flat, the highest our sight can take us is the distant mountain range. Here the Psalmist says that in time of need we must look up...to the One who made heaven and earth.

Application:
Sometimes I've been in need of help and not known it. That's the worst of all scenarios! If I had known I was really in trouble, perhaps I would have sought help from the Maker of Heaven and Earth. As it was, I thought my problems were manageable – easily fixed through my own efforts. The outcome has never been good when I've looked no higher than the hills for help! When I "look up" as my first response, I seek the Lord's help in all its forms; directly from God and from godly counselors who won’t tell me what I want to hear but what I need to hear. They speak truth in love. But when I avail myself only of the resources on the horizontal plane, my choices are limited to food, drink, money, material possessions, worldly vices, and ungodly counsel. So in light of today's reading, my goal...under any and every circumstance...is to look up!

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, you and you alone are the source of true help and deliverance. My help comes from you! You watch over me constantly. You never slumber! You are my ever-present help in time of trouble. Please give me the wisdom to know when I start to take my focus off of you and let my gaze fall back to the horizon. And when that starts to happen, please quicken me by your Spirit and bid me to look up, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Have a great week!

Faithfully,
Chuck