"Look Up"

Look up he said and pointed,

To something far away,

Can you see those cattle,

I heard him clearly say,

One thing about my Daddy,

His eyesight was so keen,

He could see what I could not,

His impatience could get mean.

And so I said I saw them,

When I couldn’t really see,

Better just to say I could,

Or so it seemed to me.

But then he sent me after them,

And ‘course I couldn’t find,

The ones he sent me after,

Kinda felt like I was blind.

Fast forward life a dozen years,

And I am on my own,

Trying hard to find my way,

And wishing I had known,

More about the way things work,

And how to get along,

Then I’d hear “Look up” you’ll see,

But I still got things wrong.

There came a time when failure,

Became my closest friend,

Even though I tried my best,

I could not make it end.

And down so low that low looked high,

And high so far away,

I wondered if I would survive,

And learn to be okay.

And then I heard my father’s words,

From oh, so long ago,

Look up to where I’m pointing,

And then I came to know,

That my Father up in heaven,

He wanted me to see,

No need for more pretending,

He’d send His grace to me.

My blindness received healing,

The light was bright and clear,

I looked where He was pointing,

What first seemed far was near.

And what I saw amazed me,

It was a daily plan,

With Jesus as my leader,

I found through Him I can,

Do what God intended,

Starting here and now,

Thankful that grace found me,

And I looked up somehow.

“For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength…” (Philippians 4:13, NLT)

It’s a lesson well-learned. We cannot really see or do what God intends for us unless we first have a clear revelation of Jesus. Our understanding is limited and our efforts fall short, but when we see Jesus as the source of our strength, life shifts in the right direction. What otherwise would be impossible becomes our everyday experience. When we become discouraged this especially is true. The God who created us calls us to trust His grace to empower us. He is with us and lives inside us, giving us the strength to overcome trials, be healed of hurts and to keep on going, no matter what. Paul even admitted that when he felt the weakest, that’s when he became the strongest. Why? Because he knew he could do all things through Christ.

Lord, strengthen us to do everything You have called us to do, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bill Anton, billantonstudios.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Bill, and God bless you.