Psalm 123

Psalm 123 is all about keeping your eyes fixed on the Lord, regardless of what you might be going through. Short Psalm; it says,

In other words, what the Psalmist is saying here is, I have not yet seen the mercy of the Lord manifest in the way that I'm praying or seeking, but I am going to keep my eyes on Him until that mercy is manifest, until that mercy comes forth, right? Do you hear what's going on there? And he says, I will continue to look to the Lord. Verse 3, he says,

And this was the particular issue going on in the life of the psalmist, but it could be a completely different issue for you. The Jews, of course, were scattered from their homeland and, in most cases, went to live in areas of the surrounding region that many times were very aggressively against their faith in God. And that's why the psalmist says, we've had more than enough contempt, and we're praying for mercy, and we're going to keep our eyes on You until that mercy comes. And I love that determination. I love it. “To You (he says) I lift up my eyes (to you I lift up my eyes)...” The question, when we're going through hard times, is always for the Christian: Where are your eyes? What are you looking at? What are you focused on? I don't know about you, but when I'm going through a problem, the temptation is absolutely enormous to look at my problem and to look at the issue that's right in front of me. It's just—nobody has to tell me to do it. It's just kind of like a knee-jerk reaction. I look at my problem, whether it's a financial problem, a physical problem, an emotional problem, or whatever it might be. I look at it, and I'm just like—I just stare at it, and it looms so big. The more I look at it, the bigger it gets. And the psalmist begins this Psalm knowing that he's in this practically impossible situation, and he says to you,

In other words, to You God, who is on the throne, I look to you. I look to You. And the reason is because You reign on the throne. You are on the throne. You rule and reign from that position, and that's why I'm looking to You, right? Oh, I just love the determination of the psalmist to keep his eyes fixed on the Lord. And that is just such a powerful reminder for you and I to keep our eyes there until whatever we're praying about is manifest. ---