When You Lift Your Eyes…

This post is written to link with Five Minute Friday: write for five minutes on a one-word prompt. The prompt today is “lift.”

When I look at the world right now, it all seems a bit chaotic.

As we begin to move towards “normal”, it’s becoming more and more clear that anything truly resembling normal is still a way off. The events of the last fifteen months have left their mark, and all around me I see people who are weary and worn out, who desperately need time to recover and be restored.

Even as I experience the joy of much more time in person, and as I do a job that actually resembles my real job for the first time in fifteen months, there is still a sense of uncertainty over what the future holds.

And, as I watch a dear friend walk through circumstances which mean that 2019 normal is unlikely to ever be the reality again, I can’t help but wonder why.

But then I’m reminded that I need to lift my eyes.

The chaos and the uncertainty and the pain are real, but there is a greater reality.

As I lift my eyes, I see that God is sovereign. He is still on the throne, and he has not lost control in the midst of the chaos.

I see that although the future is uncertain to me, it is in his hands, and I can trust him.

I see a God who cares about my friend’s pain, who loves her, and who has a good plan.

I see a God who promises to strengthen us and help us keep walking.

It’s a daily challenge, and a daily choice, but when I can remember to lift my eyes, it changes a lot.

“So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT)

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3)