Look Up!

I lift my eyes up to the mountains—where does my help come from?

Psalm 121:1

In the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the final battle takes place in a valley called Helm’s Deep. The army of Rohan and the Rohirrim (the good guys) retreat into the fortress for protection against an attack of the Orcs and Dunlendings (the bad guys). The good guys hold off the bad guys all night by launching their defenses from the rooftops of the fortress. In the morning as the bad guys breech the fortress gates, the battle horn sounds. The king and the heir to the throne decide to lead what they believe will be their final ride, thinking they will at least go down fighting. As they charge out of the fortress to face the Orcs and the Dunlendings, they look up. Atop the adjoining hill appears a lone white horse ridden by Gandalf the Grey (good guy). He is accompanied by enough reinforcements to scare away the bad guys.

What a story! Just when things seem at their worst, they look up and see their help. The book of Psalms gives us parallel imagery. Psalm 121:1 begins, “I lift my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?” The answer is in the next verse: “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

We might be facing insurmountable odds. We might be surrounded on all sides by injury, loss, sadness, or depression. Despite these trials, we have to remember that God is always ready and available to help us. Our focus needs to be on God who is our only source of help. When we’re feeling overwhelmed and discouraged, it’s all right to stop and say aloud, “Look up!”

God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies.

Hudson Taylor

God will meet you where you are in order to take you where he wants you to go.

Tony Evans

Safety comes in our nearness to God, not in our distance from our enemies.

Dillon Burroughs

For Further Reflection

Luke 21:28; Titus 2:13; Jude 14

Today’s Prayer

When I feel like I am surrounded on all sides with no help in sight, help me to look up. Amen.