To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! (Psalm 123:1)
To “lift up one’s eyes” is to place dependence upon the person looked at. When a toddler sits in her highchair, she looks longingly at her mother to feed her. Or when a child approaches the monkey bars on a playground, he looks down at the drop but then forward to the hands of his father who will hold him up. In this psalm, it’s the maidservant looking to her mistress for help.
When King Jehoshaphat ruled over Judah, a vast army of multiple nations came to invade Jerusalem. The king was outnumbered and out matched. He gathered the people together and prayed to God, “We do not know what to do, but we look to you” Perhaps you are in a circumstance where you feel trapped or lost. Trouble surrounds us like invading armies. It is in these moments that we grow in prayerful dependence upon the Lord as we “lift up our eyes” to Him who rules over all and who is for His children. Look to Him today.