“I lift my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalms 121:1-2
Is the holiday rush starting to creep into your life? Organizing those last few details of your family gathering? Finalizing your travel itinerary? Attempting to make all your baked goodies without eating them all before your company arrives? Coordinating matching outfits for the family photo? Trying to decide on the dish that you are going to contribute for each get together – something delicious, yet as least time consuming as possible?
Every year, time seems to tick just a little bit faster, and with each year this stretch between Thanksgiving and New Years consistently seems to pass in the blink of an eye, so I want to challenge you to set aside some time to take a step back this morning.
Earlier this week, I was talking to the Lord as I walked about the neighborhood. I was pouring out all of the things consuming my mind that day and presenting every related prayer and petition all at once, as we often do. When I finally stopped for a breath of air, the Lord quickly jumped in to take His turn in laying these simple words on my heart:
“Just stop, take a step back, and look up. Look where you are standing.”
Without realizing it, my walking pace had risen to match that of the flow of thoughts that were pouring from my mind, so upon hearing those words, I slowed down and looked up.
Mountains. Layers of mountains with the rays of the setting sun beautifully laying across the ridgelines. A deep breath of fresh, crisp mountain air.
“Look where you are standing.”
Was I physically in a beautiful place? Yes. Was the view before me pleasing to the eye? Incredibly. Could I have stood in awe for the rest of the night? If the wind wasn’t blowing, perhaps.
But I knew that wasn’t the extent of what these words were to mean to me. Those words were God’s response to my rapid fire, word vomit. The pouring out of all of those things that were consuming my mind and yes, much of those things had to do with the here and now. Many of my prayers and petitions surrounded the events of that day or a pending decision in my near future or the orchestration of my holiday plans.
God knew that I needed to stop, take a step back, and look up. I needed to evaluate not only where I was standing, but also how I had gotten there.
In the Lord’s perfect timing over the next few days, I was given multiple opportunities to share my testimony and specifically my testimony of this past year. I was both humbled and energized by the joy of the Lord with every chance that I was given to share and hear my own story. As I stepped back to see ALL that the Lord has done and is doing in my life, I became less consumed by what felt like the chaos of my here and now and became more thankful for the very place in which I was standing and the journey that had brought me to that spot. Honestly, until that time, I hadn’t stopped to recognize how much had happened in such a short period of time. Only the Lord could orchestrate such details.
I know that we may be many miles apart, in completely different seasons of life, or are in the midst of very different experiences, but I want to encourage you to hear these words today.
“Just stop, take a step back, and look up. Look where you are standing.”
Stop. Put a pause on the holiday hustle. Slow the outpouring of your mind. Take time to be still with the Lord.
Take a step back. Change your perspective in looking at the here and now. Begin to retrace your journey. How did you get here?
Look up. With a breath of fresh air, look up. Just as I saw when I looked up, there are likely many mountains and valleys on the path ahead, and with those will come a grand adventure, but take a moment to peer even further yet.
We, Brothers and Sisters, are standing in the midst of God’s story on our way to an eternity spent in His presence. It doesn’t matter how many mountains you look up to see, or how many valleys you trek through on the way, you are journeying towards an eternal destiny; an eternal kingdom under the reign of an eternal King.
If anything is consuming our mind, should it not be that?
I want to encourage you to seriously take some time in reflecting on this year. Share your journey with some nearby friends as you get the chance or simply write it out. I noticed that the more I shared about this journey, the less I was focused on what I did this year and in the years past, and the more my eyes were opened to what the Lord has done and is doing through my life. This too, is my hope for you.
His hand is at work all around us. He goes before and behind us. He will never leave nor forsake us. Let us revel in these things today as we stop, take a step back, and look up.
