Look Up!

Several years ago a survivor of the Holocaust named Ernie Marx spoke in southern Indiana to some high school students. He spoke of one of the things that stood out in his memory. "The Germans," he said, "wouldn’t let us look up at the sky. Because if you looked up, that gave you hope. We were not supposed to have hope. I saw many children bloodied beyond belief. Their only crime was that they looked up."

I first read that statement several yeas ago and it stirred my heart. Ernie Marx's tormentors understood that the only way they could break the will of their subjects was to rob them of hope. They also correctly surmised that hope would be derived from "looking up." So they constrained them from ever casing their glance heavenward.

I believe, today, that Hell understands this principle. The enemy of your soul knows that if he can relegate you to the confines of your life and cut you off from heaven, then he can rob you of your hope. When you don't take the time to look heavenward your problems seem bigger. When you get bogged down with everything that is going on down here, the situations in your life seem unmanageable. Your enemy understands that if he can get you so tied up and tangled up in the affairs of day-to-day living that you fail to connect with God then he can rob you of your hope.

Perhaps this is why the Psalmist David said, in Psalm 121, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help." I will lift up my eyes, David said, because when I take the time to look up I realize that "my help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." David understood that when he took his eyes off of his current circumstance and took the time to look to heaven he discovered new hope that he wasn't alone in the struggle. As he looked to heaven he came to the conclusion that the one who watches over him neither sleeps nor slumbers. God is aware of my circumstance, David said, and he will preserve my soul.

What an incredible encouragement David found in the simple exercise of lifting up his eyes! This morning I want to challenge you to take the time to look up. For just a few moments you should stop in the midst of your busy schedule and look up. Why don't you take the time to look towards heaven and catch a glimpse of your God? If you do, as you spend a moment in prayer in his presence, you will discover that He is watching over you. As you lift your eyes from your current dilemma and gaze towards heaven you will discover that He is the only source of help that you need.

Those German soldiers had it right. Your true source of hope and encouragement is found by taking the time to look up. Looking to heaven may not change your problems but it will change your outlook. The dark valley will still be there and the storms may not dissipate but your outlook will change. As you look towards the one that watches over you, the one that neither sleeps nor slumbers, you will find hope rising up within you because He's the one that will preserve your soul. When you take the time to look up you come face to face with the One from which you hope comes.

Today, I have a simple word of encouragement. Stop. Take the time to look up this morning. That's where your help is going to come from...