Eyes Upward

by: Jonathan Brownson

Where do we go from here? Let’s try to develop the habit of continually looking up to heaven, where Jesus is now.

We could even start doing that literally. Many of us have the habit of closing our eyes in prayer. Closed eyes eliminate the distractions which can keep our focus away from God. We walk by faith and not by sight, and shutting our eyelids helps us do that.

I wonder, though, if there might be some value in occasionally lifting our eyes instead when we pray. Maybe we could do what the psalmist does in the Songs of Ascent (Ps. 120-134). The song writer looks up at the hills — for a long time.

A handful of days is not enough time to see and celebrate our risen and reigning Lord. We need seasons of seeing, summers and springs of celebration. As Eugene Peterson puts it in his commentary on the Songs of Ascent, we need a “long obedience in the same direction.”

Let’s not think that when we’re done with devotions we are done with discipleship. That is not a five-minute job; it’s a full-time job. We cannot let up on looking up.