I Lift My Eyes Up

I lift up my eyes to the mountains- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip- he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you the Lord is your shade at your right hand the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.The Lord will keep you from all harm he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121

This verse makes me think about Peter walking on the water. He was perfectly stable until he looked away from Jesus. The moment his eyes turned towards the waves he began to sink. Matthew 14:29 

A couple of interesting facts.

• Waves and storms were not uncommon in this lake. The disciples would be intimately acquainted with storms and the power they hold.

• The disciples also had seen miracle after miracle that Jesus performed and knew of his power yet still had difficulty trusting Him completely.

Frozen, staring at the waves Peter was beginning to sink. Panic filled his eyes with complete fear and desperation, the waves continued to roll in, then he cried out "Lord save me!" 

Jesus responds to his cry, "It is I". This phrase “It is I” is the Greek version of Exodus 3:14  “I AM.”  This is Jesus saying, “Don’t worry. It’s me. I’m not a ghost” and more importantly, “I am the Lord God of the universe. I created the wind and the waves and I sent the storm. Remember, I called you out of the boat!"

How often are we looking at the waves, helpless, beat down, afraid and alone?  Look up!

Can it be that simple? Looking at the author and perfecter of our faith, the one who created all things, does it make a difference? 

I believe it does. In the midst of the storms, looking up causes us to take a moment to regroup, take a breath, get perspective and remember that He is God.  That He is trustworthy and He has it under control. 

I lift my eyes up, where does my help come from?  It comes from the One who loves us!

Storms keep coming like waves rolling into our lives. Storms of;

Health

Finances

Employment

Relationships

Depression

Anger

Will you allow them to overpower and stop you, or will you Look up and allow Jesus to take you by the hand and walk you through? 

Sleepwalking Zzz

Something awoke me in the middle of the night. "What was that?", I whispered as I shook my husband awake. Glancing at the the half open bedroom door and the 1:30 time on the clock. I jumped out of bed, threw on a robe and darted out our bedroom door. Looking down the hallway all seemed well, yet in my spirit I sensed that something was terribly wrong. At that moment I felt a cool breeze coming from the living room. The front door was wide open!


What I saw was heart stopping! I couldn't believe my eyes! Walking down the middle of our neighborhood street was our 8 year old daughter Lissa. Her brown hair blowing in the wind, barefooted and wearing pajamas, (one of her dad's red t-shirts) walking in what seemed like a dream.  At that moment all of the advice I had heard about sleepwalkers came flooding into my mind. 

• Don't wake them!
• Don't startle them!

All I could think of was that my daughter was in the middle of the street and not awake! As gently as I could make my voice sound and still get her attention, I asked, "Where are you going Lissa?" To my surprise she turned and looked at me and matter of factly replied, "I'm going to Jeni's to get some sugar!" Jeni lived 10 minutes way from us!


For the next year be took extra precautions to protect our daughter from her sleepwalking habit.

• We added a lock higher up on the door.
• We put obstacles of chairs in the hallway.
• We always kept our bedroom door open .

I thank God for waking me up that night. He will lead and guide us even when we are sleeping.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip- he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand;the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121

How is God protecting you?

Is it in creating a new direction?

Closing or opening doors?

Changing a relationship?

A continued, deep feeling about something?

Repeated bible verse?

Changing your schedule?

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”  Psalm 32:8

Father thank you for your protection over my life and my family. I praise you for watching over us even when we are sleeping. Thank you for giving us your Spirit who leads and guide us. Jann