Read | Psalm 121:1-2
Picture a three-year-old who suddenly realizes she’s lost sight of her parent. Imagine her sense of fear—a feeling of danger, vulnerability, and an overwhelming need to get out of that situation. Now glance with me into the next room, where her father still has the child in his line of vision. Though the little girl is unable to locate him, he can see her perfectly.
Like that child, we can find ourselves beset by sudden difficulty and overcome with fear. At times like that, we might wonder, Where is our heavenly Father? When we are able to turn our minds away from the hardship and look up with spiritual eyes, we will see that He is and always has been near to us (Deut. 31:6).
Unfortunately, trouble operates like a magnet on our attention; it takes effort to detach our gaze from the adversity and affix it on God. But by developing a consistent habit of seeking the Lord’s presence throughout each and every day, we will find it easier to do so in a crisis.
The Holy Spirit stands ready to help us sharpen our spiritual eyesight. The best time to practice is when the issues in our lives are “normal” and the stress level is tolerable. However, these are the very times when we are most tempted to focus on our routine and seek our heavenly Father only occasionally.
We must become people who habitually look for evidence of God’s nearness. We can look for it in creation, in the Christians with whom we worship and serve, and in our own lives. With spiritual eyes trained to seek the Lord, we will be able to look up and find Him, even in the dark nights of our lives (Acts 7:55).
