A church for all nations sharing God's love and truth to all people through the life transforming message of Jesus
HomeSermonsLifting our eyes up

Lifting our eyes up

Lifting our eyes up

Psalm 121:1-8

Life will always throw things at us, but we always need to know where our help comes from. This psalm needs to be our rhythm of life: I lift my eyes, where does my help come from (vs1); My help comes from the Lord (vs2); The Lord watches over me (vs8).

  1. He is our guardian and He is watching over us (vs 8) – God promises His continual guardianship. The Hebrew word for “watch over” means to preserve with vigilant care. This is not a passive observation, but an active, engaging and continual observation. God sees our comings and goings and knows everything about us. God is looking after us eternally. God never clocks out, takes time away or slumbers.
  2. Our natural response and acknowledging our need (vs 1-2) – Verse 1 is an honest enquiry and a confident declaration. How many times do we not look where we are going? We need to look where we want to go (Hebrews 12:2). When Peter was walking on the water he was fine until he took his focus off of Jesus (Matthew 14:28-30). When David faced Goliath his eyes were on God and not the size of the giant (1 Samuel 17:45). When Moses faced the Reed Sea he followed what God told him to do (Exodus 14:21-22). When Jehoshaphat faced a vast army he said, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12). At his stoning Stephen prayed and looked up to heaven (Acts 7:55). Even Jesus lifted His eyes to heaven and prayed to His Father (John 17:1). Our help comes not from the things around us, but from God and God alone. “Our help comes from the maker of heaven and earth” should be our continual refrain, not just a one time declaration, and should be the rhythm of our lives. Because God keeps us perpetually we must acknowledge Him continuously.
  3. The complete protection – nothing escapes His care (vs 3-7) – The psalmist gives us a comprehensive nature of who God is and His keeping of us. Complete protection does not mean that things are going to be easy all the time or that things are not going to us. Things will still happen, but it will never be out of God’s allowance or plan. We should not just go to God when stuff is happening to us, but we should be clinging closer to Him when stuff is happening. When we cling to God:
    • there is stability in our steps and He watches over us (vs 3)
    • there is immediate presence  (vs 5)
    • there is around the clock protection (vs 6)
    • there is defence against all harm (vs 7). This is about the physical visible dangers and the invisible spiritual dangers.
  4. Living in response – a life of continual acknowledgement – How do we live in light of verse 8? By making verses 1 and 2 our regular daily practice. Where are we looking? We need to make “My help comes from the Lord” personal. In our success and in our struggle we need to we need to keep a constant acknowledgement that God is always with us. This needs to become the rhythm of our lives. We also need to make this our witness to others by acknowledging where our help comes from.