Looking Up

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This is the best time of year to be living in Ashland County. Not only is the weather typical of the Midwest with beautiful days randomly interrupted by awesome thunderstorms but this is the time for people to look up. This past weekend people kept their eye on the sky to see if they could spot one of the many beautiful balloons here for the annual Balloonfest. It is such a wonderful sight to look up and see one of those multicolored balloons being carried along by the gentle summer breezes.

On July 4, all eyes turned to the sky for another sight: fireworks. The sky over the high school stadium sparkled with bright colors. It is such an enjoyment to sit and watch as kids and adults alike are mesmerized, looking up and oohing and aahing over the fabulous display.

But, now the balloons and fireworks are behind us and we are back to our “regular” view of the world. So many people have gone back to their routine of their lives, missing great opportunities that are easily within sight. Too many times, we think the way to a successful life is to keep our noses to the grindstone and push on toward the next big raise or promotion. This time of work is interrupted only by weekends crammed with endless activities—“busy-ness” that leave us empty and more frustrated with our lives.

So many people in the world today never find happiness because they never look up. The psalmists knew where happiness and hope come from: Joy in this world is found not by searching for it in our earthly activities but by looking up to the One who gives us life. The Psalms have a way of reminding us that whether things appear to be going good or bad, God is always there for us. Look up because “up” is where your hope is. One of my favorite Scriptures in the Bible is Psalm 121(NIV):

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.

No matter what may be getting you down, there is hope when we look up. So often times when we get into a problem in life, we have a tendency to look around us—or to ourselves—for a solution. After all, we are an advanced people. We have solved problems that have plagued humankind for hundreds of years—yet we continue to struggle in a world full of problems.

Our Creator encourages us to look to Him for answers in this life. A great post I read recently on Facebook said: “Good morning, this is God. I will be handling your problems today.”* After all, if He created the universe, surely He can handle whatever earthly problem we bring to Him. He watches over His creation day and night. Good or bad, there is never a time when He is not present in our lives to help us in His loving way.

I don’t know where you are in your life today, but I do know your day will be much better if you take some time to look up to God.

 *Crosswalk.com, June 25, 2015