Look Up!
Have you ever taken a walk, and realized that you never even saw the scenery?
You went out to take in the outdoors, and all you saw was….your feet?
I’ve done that more times than I can remember. You could have walked past me and I wouldn’t have even realized it.
Why do we get like that? For me, it’s when I’m too wrapped up inside my own head. Maybe it’s a concern I have that I’m wrestling; I’m turning it every which way to come up with a ‘fix.’ Sometimes I’m in my own head because I’m experiencing guilt over something I did; I tend to want to ‘beat myself’ until I’ve reached a certain level of guilt in order to prove my repentance is real. Sometimes I’m preparing for an interaction or a conversation I think is going to be difficult, and I’m ‘rehearsing’ what to say and what to avoid. Sometimes I’m actually having a conversation with someone in real life, or I’ve been playing with one of my kids, and I realize I have no idea what has been said! I was so wrapped up in my inner dialogue, I was going through the motions outwardly. This is not all the time, but I know, depending on my stress level, I can get pulled into a vortex of thought in my own head. It is then I need intentional effort or reason for me to turn my focus outward.
There’s a verse in the Bible which has always stuck with me, perhaps because it’s short and catchy. It is found in Luke 21:28, and says “So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!
In this verse, Jesus is telling them about things that will happen at the end of time, but the second two sentences can apply to us here and now, in our everyday lives.
When we catch ourselves stuck in our own minds, we need to Look Up! We need to look out. We need to look ahead.
Looking up should first of all be looking to God, asking for his help. He knows everything, and is willing to help; we just have to turn to him. Praying when we are trying to figure out a problem helps us remember the source of our help: God. He stands by, just waiting to be invited into our lives.
Looking up is also a perspective changer. We go from having our focus on what is happening right here and now, this day, and shifts our perspective to include what is coming, and what is subject to change. The view from a thousand feet is different than the view at 6 inches. When all you can see is the here-and-now, you need to look up! See with eyes of hope that things are shifting and aligning. See the possibilities of change occurring, God bringing someone to you, wisdom to find the answers you are looking for. Looking up looks for- and finds- a reason to hope.
The discipline problems that are making today crazy- in a month, they may be a thing of the past!
The financial strain at this moment, the bills that were due five days ago? In six months, they could be paid in full.
The arguing in your marriage and the friction when making every decision- is it possible it could be different? In a month or two, could you be experiencing joy in your marriage again? Look up, and look forward. Look for the possibilities. Look for solutions. Look for hope.
So many things we allow to muddle our minds now, are things that are fleeting and temporary. Let’s learn to lift our eyes up and take a new perspective. Maybe the problem isn’t as huge as we think. Maybe it is big now, but maybe it can also be resolved with some simple changes.
Looking up also allows us to see that between here and there, between now and then, there are steps. There is movement that must take place. I don’t get from my house to the end of the block by just blinking my eyes. I get there by taking steps. Looking up reminds me there are things I need to do to get from where I am to where I want to be. I remember I can’t just stay in my own head. Worrying won’t move me from where I am now. But taking steps will move me. I can visualize the steps I need to take to shift from looking at a huge bill to having it paid off, and it’s going to take quite a few of them. It might take 20 months of making small payments, but it sure is better than just hanging my head and worrying about how to pay an exorbitant bill.
Looking up allows me to see the distance, yes, but also to see it’s walkable. It’s attainable. The gap between today and next week is divided into increments of days and hours and minutes and seconds. In those days and hours and minutes and seconds I can decide how I use each one, and intentionally put forth effort to reach a desired end. Or, I can simply worry through each of those days and hours and be in exactly the same spot in a week. Looking up allows me to assess (rather than worry) how to get from here to there. If I don’t look up, I keep trudging through life and my only viewpoint is my feet (and that’s not a particularly beautiful view).
Today, no matter what you’re facing, no matter what is occupying prime space in your mind, will you take a moment to look up? Will you pray, first? Just asking God to help you is all the prayer you need. Then, make a perspective shift. You’ve looked at the situation NOW; how about looking at it long term? Does that change how impossible or overwhelming it feels? And then, consider a way you can close the gap between what is right now and what you would like it to be. Are there some real steps you can take to not remain where you are?
The start is just to LOOK UP!
