Read Psalm 121:1–8
‘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..’ (vv1–4)
As we enter this season of Advent, building up to the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, it could be easy for us to be distracted by the season’s celebrations and the expectations of others.
Within our Advent considerations, we want to encourage focus on the expectations and hope found in looking to God.
This expectation and hope are captured in Psalm 121, as the writer encourages us to ‘look up’ to our Helper and Maker (vv1–2).
So often we look around us at the varying demands on our time, or look down in despair, with this time of year being a time of sadness and loneliness for many – perhaps missing loved ones, or feeling friendless.
We may even look behind us at past regrets and mistakes.
However, our expectation and hope come as we look upwards – to the One who watches over us (v3), and who guides and protects us (vv5–8).
This Advent season, where we look matters. As we look to God, He can change our sadness to celebration, our helplessness to hope, our despair to expectation.
At the same time, we can encourage others, overwhelmed by their day to day, to look up to Him too.
A PRAYER TO MAKE:
‘Lord, help me to lift my eyes to You,
the Lord the Maker of heaven and earth. Amen.’
AN ACTION TO TAKE:
In which direction do you look as a rule?
Look up to God’s promises and thank Him for
this season of expectation and hope.
SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER:
Psalm 130:1-8; Isa. 9:1-7; Luke 2:22-32; Luke 21:5-28
