"Lift up your eyes."

It’s a repeated thought throughout the Scriptures--lifting up the eyes. It's not always phrased the same way. It might be “I will lift up my eyes”, or “so-and-so lifted up his eyes and saw such-and-such," but it’s the idea of looking up.

The Sound of Music has been one of my favorite movies since I was a very small child. I remember being mesmerized by the scene where the Mother Abbess looks out the window into the distance and quotes a portion of Psalm 121 to Maria in a solemn, profound and comforting voice.

"I will lift mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help..." 

It wasn't until years later, when studying the Scriptures for myself, that I realized the message of this Psalm doesn't end there. My help doesn’t come from the HILLS...my help comes from the Lord.

The way it actually reads is...

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence comes my help?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” - Psalm 121:1-2

Yes, our help comes from the LORD, not from the hills.

God had the psalmist pen those words...and God is very intentional about every word in His Book.

Did you know that there are documented physical and mental benefits to looking up and looking out to long-distance views in nature? It is said, "When we shift our gaze to distant objects, we allow our eye muscles to relax and rejuvenate. This simple act can be transformative.” My purpose today is to talk about the spiritual application of "lifting up the eyes", but I want you to remember that there ARE physical and psychological benefits to looking up and looking out, to focusing on a long-distance landscape. 

Regularly taking time to physically “lift up your eyes unto the hills” will be a source of help to you...we’re designed that way. God made our eyes that way. He made His creation beautiful: to be a refreshment to our souls.

The thought of “lifting up your eyes” has to do with stopping for a moment and noticing what’s around you. 

Noticing what God is doing. It’s a well-known phrase to say that someone who is self-centered “can’t see past the end of their nose.” That means they’re just thinking about themselves, their circumstances, and how everything in their life affects them...not stopping to notice other people or to notice what God is doing.  

God’s works are often done quietly: He rarely blows a trumpet in front of Himself. We have to pay attention to see them. Think about it! How many times has something happened in a day and it wasn’t until later that you realized, “Oh wait a minute, that was an answer to prayer!” 

Now, we’re going to blitz through a number of Scriptures that have the theme, “Lift up your eyes."

As we do, understand that the application has to do with faith and with choosing your focus.

Abraham Sees God's Redemptive Provision

"And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son." - Genesis 22:13 

Joshua Sees the Lord and Finds Guidance

“Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, ‘Are you for us or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No, rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord,” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and bowed down, and said to him, ‘What has my lord to say to his servant?”  - Joshua 5:13ff

Nebuchadnezzar Lifts His Eyes to the Lord and Is Given Back His Sanity

"And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation" - Daniel 4:34

Peter, James, and John Lift Up Their Eyes to Jesus--Everything They Need

"And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus Himself alone." - Matthew 17:8

We Lift Our Eyes to See Others with the Compassionate Heart of the Lord

“Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest”... - John 4:35

Those are not all the verses we could have chosen, but even from this set, what happens when we choose to lift up our eyes? When we look up and look out, away from ourselves and our own circumstances and our own noses... 

• We will notice God's provision.

• We will see His blessings.

• We will see the Lord Himself in our circumstances.

• We will receive His direction.

• We will gain the right perspective on life.

• We will see the Lord as our souce of hope and help.

• We will see the people around us with God's eyes.

• We will be drawn to pray intimately to our Father in heaven.

Let’s always remember that we have the choice to do this. 

The verse we started with, Psalm 121:1 says “I will lift up my eyes.” Will is a word of choice...I choose to lift up my eyes to the Lord. No matter what is happening and no matter how I’m feeling (about myself, my circumstances, or the people around me) this is a choice we can make.  

And the wonderful thing about choices is this: after a while, when made consistently, choices become habits. You might not be used to taking all your circumstances and relating them to the Lord. You might not have grown up being taught to see God’s hand in everything. Don't worry! “Lifting up your eyes” is a choice you can start making now and, in time, it becomes a habit...it becomes the pattern of your life.  

How precious is it that God makes faith such a simple act? Anyone can do it! The average person--strong or weak, young or old, sick or well, rich or poor, even a dying thief on a cross: anyone may choose to lift up their eyes and look to the Lord. The strength of your faith lies not in your faith itself, but in the object of your faith. You are lifting up your eyes to Him who is strong. There is every reason to rejoice and rest. No matter what is happening, lift your eyes to Him who is always triumphant!