I lift my eyes up to the hills, where does my help come from?  My help comes for the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.  These familiar words from Psalm 121 leap to the forefront of my mind as I lay eyes upon the vivid landscape of Guatemala.  We don’t know the full context in which these words were pinned, nor do we know the circumstances of his life that day, but the Psalmist makes reference to the hills or the mountains, and this landscape generates in him a response.

It’s 6:30 am as I sit on outside Paradise Bound Ministries base in Guatemala.  The sun has ever so slowly and majestically risen above the mountains.  There is a silhouette of haze around the peaks as the sun’s rays are dancing from peak to peak within this blanket of mist.  Those around me are awestruck, given that for most of us, such a divine entrance into a new day is not commonplace.  The sun is now getting brighter, as the landscape illuminates with color.  Thoughts of this day’s opportunities, to live in the fullness of the Creator and press in his all-encompassing presence, dance within the connected cells of my mind.

Pondering such beauty, I can’t help but wonder if the Psalmist needed to reset his reality?  Were the pressures of the day overwhelming, to the point that a vivid reminder of who he was, and who God was, was necessary.  Notice that his “help” didn’t come from the hills, the hills or mountains simply provided the backdrop and context.  Then he declares, which strong conviction, who it is that his help comes from.  It is “the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.”  This represents a bold declaration that without doubt, puts a smile on his face and confidence in his heart.

Knowing that we need the same most days, I could end with a simple encouragement to reset your eyes on God whenever life seems overwhelming.  Indeed, this would be a great take away.  But there is one another key action that could be overlooked, and it’s the first phrase of verse one, “I lift my eyes up…”  Circumstances of life can often engross us, causing our eyes to focus on those things clamoring for our attention.  Instead of looking up, we often look down.  Hebrews 12:12 challenges us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfector of our faith.”   This leads me to believe that to reset our day, to derive the confidence we need to fully embrace the day, we need to reposition our eyes to look up.  We need to focus our gaze on the maker of heaven and earth, the author and perfector of our faith.  In so doing, our eyes will dazzle with his wonder and awe as we’re reminded who we are and that the God who made the heavens and earth has our day perfectly in the palm of his hand.