January 4
A God-ward focus
Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. Psalms 123:1 (NKJV)
So much of the Book of Psalms is about perspective and focusing our energies in the right direction. In this regard, Psalm Chapter 123 cuts right to the chase. Right out of the gate, it makes this powerful proclamation pertaining to perspective, "Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens."
Of all things that the Psalmist could focus on, he chooses to focus on the Lord and the fact that He dwells in the heavens. His focus was God-ward, not self-ward or man-ward…or even world-ward. And it's this God-ward focus that makes all the difference…not just in the Psalmist's life, but in ours, as well.
We see the same principle played out in the life of Peter. It was in his finest hour of faith, as he stepped out of the boat and walked on the waves towards Jesus, that Peter learned a powerful lesson about having a God-ward focus. He was overcoming the elements all around him, yet the Bible tells us that when he took his eyes off Jesus and started to look at the storm, he lost his God-ward focus and began to sink (Matthew 14:30).
That's a powerful picture of what happens to us when we take our eyes off the One who dwells in the heavens. We lose our God-ward focus and place it on things that invariably cause us to sink and succumb to the storms of life.
But equally important to note is that Peter regained his focus as he cried out to Jesus, "Lord, save me!" And Jesus did. This shows us that just because we lose our focus on the Lord, it doesn't mean it has to stay lost. It can be restored when we recognize our error and call out to Him with a true and sincere heart.
Lord, save us…not from the storm but from the temptation to take our focus off of You.
Think About It…
What does this passage reveal to me about God?
What does this passage reveal to me about myself?
Based on this, what changes do I need to make?
What is my prayer for today?
SPECIAL OFFER
God's mercy is new every day. That's because it's needed daily. So to help you walk through a fresh new day, the Active Word has put together this second volume of the 365 Devotional. Our hope in creating this series of devotionals, is to help you connect with God's Word 365 days a year. And the best thing is, you can start any day of the year. Stay in step with God's Word, His will, and learn to live out your faith, daily.
