To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens. - Psalm 123:1 (ESV)
At the end of March, 2023, my husband and I had packed up only the few belongings that the Lord allowed us to take, and we began our 3-day driving journey from Brisbane, Queensland (Australia) down to Adelaide, South Australia for the next chapter of our adventure in Him. We spent the first night in a rural town in New South Wales called Coonabarabran, which Google calls the “stargazing capitol of Australia.” We had been told by numerous friends to be sure to check out the skies while in Coonabarabran. Though exhausted from a long day’s drive, we started our second day of driving at 3am from Coonabarabran, so we decided to take this opportunity to look up.
We found ourselves on a very dark, very rural, back road and decided to pull over to have a look at the stars. It was indeed the most brilliant, breath-taking view of the milky way that I had ever seen. The clarity was truly astonishing and incredibly humbling.
Back in the car on our next long drive, I heard the Lord begin to speak from this experience outside of Coonabarabran while looking up. You see, as my husband and I drove into unknown territory, both of us pioneers and reformers, we had just had a week of things seemingly going wrong in the natural and we felt tired and excited, all at once. And yet, this experience made us see with clarity how so very small we and our circumstances were compared to the BIGNESS of our God who calls the stars by name. And even more boggling, this BIG GOD wanted to speak to little me.
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet. – Psalm 8:3-6
First of all, this is a word for those who feel that they are entering into something unknown.
Secondly, to those who are called as reformers in the global Church, and who are wrestling with this call.
Finally, to those who are struggling to see beyond the temporal right now.
I heard the Lord say, “LOOK UP, STAY HUMBLE and KEEP GOING.”
Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing. – Isaiah 40:26 (NASB95)
Look up. Take time to really SEE and reflect upon the “greatness of His might and strength of His power.” Your Creator has created each star and calls them all by name. As Psalm 8 says, what is man – WHO AM I – that you would be mindful of me? And yet we have access to this Creator. The “unknown” need not feel so frightening when we LOOK UP for a fresh perspective.
“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, Or loose the cords of Orion? “Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, and guide the Bear with her satellites? “Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, or fix their rule over the earth?” – Job 38:31-33 (NLT)
Look up and stay humble – especially the reformers. I had a similar interaction with the Lord as Job had in this passage. It left me humbled, but also confident that He knows more, sees more and cares way more about His Bride or the state of the Church than I do. He can use me most when I stay humble and yield my heart, my mouth and my agendas to Him.
To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens. - Psalm 123:1 (ESV)
Looking up to see so many stars, planets and moons, and then realizing how very small I am in relation to these things, made everything in the temporal world fade away. I felt the love of the Father in that moment, and understood that He is seated above it all.
…He does not forget the cry of the humble – Psalm 9:12 (NKJV)
Look up.
You gain strength, courage and perspective when you stop and look up. And then, you MUST keep going.
Keep going, into the unknown. Keep going, into the next season of your calling. Keep going, regardless of what comes at you.
Look up, stay humble, and keep going.
xoxo
Mandy
Photo by Denis Degioanni on Unsplash