Things Are Looking UP!

We live in AMAZING times – but they’re also PERILOUS times (2 Timothy 3:1).

Describing the End Times for us, Jesus said:

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in various places (Matthew 24:7).

Can anyone doubt those days are here? When have there been more natural disasters and more unrest in the nations of the world?

So what are we to DO when we see all of this happening? Are we to despair or go into a time of depression? Should we just bury our heads in the ground and hope it all goes away?

Not at all. Jesus said:

When these things begin to happen, LOOK UP and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near (Luke 21:28).

When these things “begin to happen” on the earth, Jesus said we should look up and lift our heads. And since these things HAVE begun to happen, we know our Lord will return one day soon.

While We Wait

Although it’s wonderful to live in the exciting expectancy of Christ’s return, Jesus said we need to have the correct perspective … While we wait, we must be  careful where we look!

In the midst of the difficult  times on planet earth, the Lord’s message is … “Get your eyes off your  problems and look up!”

Notice that Jesus doesn’t say to just GLANCE UP – He says we must LOOK UP. Looking is more proactive, focused, and purposeful than merely glancing.

Of course, there are alternatives to looking up. We can look AROUND at the problems, or even worse, we can be tempted to look DOWN. People look down when they feel depressed, ashamed, intimidated, or defeated. But none of this is God’s will for His people!

• When you look DOWN, you see the darkness … when you look UP, you see the dawn.
• When you look AROUND, you see problems … when you look UP, you see possibilities.
• When you look DOWN, you see today … when you look UP, you see tomorrow.
• When you look DOWN, you see difficulty … when you look UP, you see destiny.

Starting Your Day

Friend, I encourage you to start every day by looking up! Take a few minutes and join the psalmist David in declaring:

“My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I WILL LOOK UP” (Psalm 5:3).

Then take Psalm 121:1-8 and personalize it:

I will lift UP my eyes to the hills – from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow [my] foot to  be moved; He who keeps [me] will not slumber…

The Lord is [my] keeper…

The Lord shall preserve [me] from all evil …The Lord shall preserve [my] going out and [my] coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.

When you confess the promises of God’s Word, you’ll find that things start to look brighter in your life.

Now pray with me:

“Thank You, Lord, for Your intervention in my circumstances today. In every situation, I will LOOK UP to You!”