His fleshly desires unyielding,

Lot had chosen all of the best.

Never stopping to consider,

He was leaving Abraham the rest.

We all know THAT feeling,

The kind that locks you up inside.

Look up to see God’s purpose,

His plans will turn the tide.

God reminded Abraham,

Look up unto the stars.

You still have a future,

In this land you see, so far.

The purpose of our Father,

Is greater than any man.

We have to trust His process,

FAITH, that doesn’t understand.

Joshua and Caleb,

Ignoring all doubt and fear that ruled.

Looked up unto the Father,

While the Promised Land, pursued.

Some may desire to come against,

Your future’s brighter days.

Like Saul’s attempts, so futile,

David was looking up to trust God’s way.

In our current culture,

We are plagued with looking down.

Always searching for the answers,

That entertain, yet keep us bound.

It is in God we find TRUE counsel,

Not bent over our device’s space.

Open the door for His miracles,

Look UP to seek God’s face.

Wendi Maddox

Author’s Look~

Look Up, for it is obvious that our current society is continually looking down, with a posture created by the devices held in our hands. The ones that we look to devotidly for messages, e-mails, information, entertainment, etc. It is constant, with Psychology Today reporting even way back in 2015, that the average American checks their device 159 times a day! That’s a lot of looking down.

I get it. . . we all know the desire to see and learn more, especially in an entertaining way, but we have to stay mindful of the balance between up and down. It is very easy to spend a lot of time looking down, engrossed in good things, but by the time we come back up for air, there is no time left in the day for looking up to God.

Inspiration

This piece was inspired by two moments for me. One was listening to a sermon given by Rev. Ron Becton, where he gave the examples of Abraham, Joshua/Caleb and David. These men all made a choice to Look Up for the answers they were in need of. Looking down would have been a distractive disaster, for too many voices all trying to give the answers, create a cycle of confusion. Looking up, we remember that the purpose of the Father is greater than any man!

Hebrews 12:2 (KJV). . .Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; . . .

The second moment came for me during a choir practice when at the end, our director Aaron Curtis, greatly encouraged us all to LOOK UP! He referenced the devices we look down at so much and made a statement that connected with me. He said, it is no coincidence that they are called, “devices”. Let that sit with you a minute. He began to sing the old hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (you can hear a remix by Urshan College https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlAXNk41–w).

Reverse Look

A conscious decision needs to be made to reverse our direction. It is in that time when we are looking up and seeking God’s face, that we learn the true, important and deep things of life. That is where perspective changes and faith grows. The answers we seek for the paths we follow are found in Looking UP. Challenge yourself to spend more time looking up this week. You will find a peace and growth in your relationship with God that will feed your hunger for more. Nothing can fulfill like He can. For when you turn your eyes upon Jesus and look full in His wonderful face . . . the things of Earth will grow strongly dim in the light of His glory and grace ~ Helen Lemmel

Look God in the eyes and watch everything else fade away!