For a while now I have been reading a Psalm every day with my usual reading. I like to work my way through the Psalms slowly and in order. Doing so helps me see each individual one in all its beauty but then also see them strung together as the glorious literary design that they are. The other day I read Psalm 123:
“To You I lift up my eyes, The One enthroned in the heavens!
Behold, as the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a servant-girl to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to Yahweh our God, Until He is gracious to us.
Be gracious to us, O Yahweh, be gracious to us, For we are greatly saturated with contempt.
Our soul is greatly saturated With the mockery of those who are at ease, And with the contempt of the proud.”
Psalm 123 LSB
Now read again the bolded verse. The imagery here is amazing. Picture a servant who has grown up in his master’s house. From a young age he has had only one job: serve my master. Whether it’s making food, washing clothes, cleaning the house, etc. the servant is on it. The servant has learned the art of “looking”. He has learned to stand, quiet as a mouse, in the corner of the room with his eyes fixed on the master’s hand. And the moment the hand moves to point towards a certain task then the servant, without hesitation, completes it as instructed.
The servant also knows that it is his master who feeds him, gives him his wages, gives him time off, etc. But he has, again, learned the art of “looking.” Instead of wishing it was time for lunch or begging for a day off he has learned to stand, quiet as a mouse, in the corner of the room with his eyes fixed on the master’s hand. And the moment the hand moves to grant a request, to give time off, or to feed, then the servant is glad to follow and obey the master.
The Art of Looking
Therefore the Psalm says: just as the servant looks to the master’s hand for everything needful, so we look to our God for everything pertaining to “life and godliness” 2 Peter 1:3.
We need to learn and cultivate the art of “looking”. Rather than forging our own path, worried about income, job, goals, and the rest of the “cares of this world” we need to learn to stand, quiet as a mouse, in the corner of the room with our eyes fixed on our God. Content to stand for hours, days, months, and even years. We must trust that our God knows when things need to be done, when we need to be fed, and how it is to be done.
Yahweh our God
What people fail to understand is the character of the master. Life would be quite miserable if the servant had an angry, prideful, and sinful master that did not care for his well being. But, praise God, that is not the case! We have a Master who is: “ready to pardon, gracious, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” (Nehemiah 9:17). How much more enjoyable life is to have a Master who deeply cares for your well being and who is also more than able to supply your every need.
Action
Begin to cultivate the art of “looking”. Not sure where to begin? Read Psalm 123 again. Ask God to open the spirit of your mind and teach you, through His spirit, how to apply it. Then study the character of your Master. The more you learn about your Master the more pleasing life will be to simply look to Him for everything.
Respond
- Praise God for being the Master He is. Praise Him for His mercy, kindness, and abundant grace in the time of need.
- Confess to Him the many times you have taken your eyes off of Him. Ask Him for His mercy and kindness for your shortcomings.
- Ask God to begin cultivating the art of “looking” in your life. Ask Him to direct your eyes off of the business of life and on to Him.
- Thank God for His abundant mercy and kindness.