Where your eyes lead, your heart follows

November 24, 2009

Where your eyes lead, your heart follows

Psalm 123

Sid Goodloe

Central Truth

Looking for God's intimate command requires a waiting readiness. It is only in humility that I can taste the sweetness of His Grace, know His Goodness, and hear Him. I must not hesitate to respond when I hear that command.

Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress,
so my eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.
(Psalm 123:2)

Our Eyes Look to the LORD Our God

A Song of Ascents.

1 To you I lift up my eyes,
    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants
    look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
    to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
    till he has mercy upon us.

3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,
    for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than enough
    of the scorn of those who are at ease,
    of the contempt of the proud.

After attempting four . . . no, wait . . . now five versions of my Journey with Psalm 123, I keep coming back to the eyes. What is so significant about the eyes and the hands in verse 2? So I looked up some cultural history on my trusty MacGoogleizer and learned that in the Eastern culture of the day the masters did not command vocally like Western blue bloods do. They actually used subtle signals, mostly with the hands. The servants would watch and wait quietly and attentively for these signs and then immediately move into action.

Still, quiet, and instantly ready—you know where I'm going, doncha! These servants were totally and completely focused on the task at hand, standing ready. What an awe-inspiring sense of duty they had!

Now, here's the kicker: "So our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He is gracious to us." (123:2, NASB) How often our Father says to us, "Be still, wait, keep your eyes on Me, wait, look to, wait," over and over and over. Psalm 25:15 says, "I continually look to the Lord for help, for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net." I keep my eyes on Him, and He protects me. If I don't, I get swept up with the other fish. Do I really watch my Master? Do I draw so close to Him that I can sense His tiniest movements? Is my countenance turned entirely to Him so I can see the smallest signal?

As I read this, I am convicted deeply that I have much growing to do. But THIS is what "looking to my Lord" means! Until He is gracious to me, not "OK, I'm looking at you, where's my grace?" I have to look at Him until HE is gracious. Two days from now, it will be Thanksgiving. Will you be looking at your Lord until He is gracious, thankful for whatever situation you are in because it refines you? Or will you be too prideful or lazy to notice your Master signaling to you? Your choice . . .

1. Who are you like most of the time: the ready servant or the scoffing prideful onlookers?

2. What does it look like to take on an active posture of listening?

3. What are three things you can do this week to actively listen to God and wait for His intimate command?

4. How can you remove the clutter of life so that you can draw closer to the Father?