I Will Look to the Lord Alone

 

 

 

 

[Psalm 123]

 

 

As we live our lives of faith, there are often times when we can do nothing but bow before the Lord and cry out to Him. In those moments, we look at our circumstances, and we find ourselves in a heavy, burdened, and truly troubled state. Quietly, we come before the Lord and cry out to Him. In that act of supplication, the Holy Spirit works in such a way that we are compelled to pour out all our heavy and troubled hearts before our Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit brings to mind God's Word, and through that Word, He helps us realize our sins and leads us to repentance. In the work of the Holy Spirit, we must ask God to forgive our sins. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit allows us to carry God's heart, and with His heart, we are led to plead before God. And He helps us seek the Lord's will. Therefore, the painful and difficult situations in our lives are precious opportunities to cry out to the Lord when we look to Him.

In today's scripture, Psalm 123:2, we see the psalmist looking to God in the midst of a painful situation. What was the troubled situation the psalmist was facing? It was a situation of mockery and scorn (verse 4). Here, the "peaceful ones" refer to those who, without any understanding of God's warning, live without any trouble or concern (Park Yun-sun). These are the proud and arrogant who have no reverence for God. In other words, the psalmist was suffering because he was being mocked and despised by these "peaceful" and "proud" people. In the midst of this difficult situation, the psalmist looked only to the Lord. Today, as we reflect on how the psalmist looked to the Lord in his troubling circumstances, I would like to meditate on three lessons. My prayer is that we, too, in our difficult times, can look only to the Lord and overcome our struggles with the grace He provides.

First, we must lift our eyes and look to the Lord who is in heaven.

Look at Psalm 123:1: "To You who sit in the heavens, I lift up my eyes." During our time on this earth, we will inevitably face many hard and troubling situations. Our hearts will become heavy and burdened. When that happens, what is the first thing we should do? We must lift our eyes and look to God in heaven. When, amid the many difficulties and challenges we face on this earth, we look around and find no one to help, what should we do? We should lift our eyes to the mountains (Psalm 121:1-2). The reason is that our help comes from "the Lord who made heaven and earth" (verse 2). Let us never be satisfied with looking to anything on this earth for help. Instead, let us know that the salvation of the Most High God is the only true salvation, and let us lift our eyes to long for the salvation of God in heaven (Park Yun-sun).

 

I Personally Draw Strength from Jonah 2:4

"I said, 'I have been banished from Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.'" (Jonah 2:4)

I personally draw strength from this verse, because even though, like Jonah, I may find myself disobeying the Lord's word and facing the consequences of my sins, feeling as if my soul is deeply sunk in despair, this verse brings me comfort and strength. In other words, Jonah 2:4 reminds me that just as Jonah "looked again toward the Lord's holy temple," God's Word leads me to look to the Lord again, even in my troubles. I take comfort from this, knowing that God's Word calls me to turn back to Him.

In today's scripture, Psalm 123, the psalmist did not focus on the distressing and difficult circumstances he was facing. Instead, he lifted his eyes to look to God, who is in heaven. As we also face hardships, let us, like the psalmist, lift our eyes and look to the Lord. Although our physical eyes may see difficult and challenging situations, let our spiritual eyes look only to God, the Savior, who can deliver us from those troubles. The God of our salvation will rescue us. The righteous God will defeat those "peaceful" and "proud" people who trouble us. Certainly, God will help and strengthen us.

Secondly, we must look to the Lord with the attitude of a servant.

Look at Psalm 123:2: "As the eyes of a servant look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till He shows us His mercy." What does it mean that "the eyes of a servant look to the hand of their master"? This verse suggests that the psalmist viewed looking to the Lord as his divine calling, just as a servant would consider it their duty to look to their master (Park Yun-sun). What is meant by "divine calling"? It refers to the mission given by God in this world, which is to look to the Lord (Internet).

Do you and I view looking to the Lord as our divine calling? Yes, the mission God has given us is to look to Him. So, how should we look to the Lord in the midst of the mockery and scorn of the proud, knowing that looking to Him is our mission? We should do so with humility. Those who view looking to the Lord as their divine calling will not complain when God's salvation seems delayed. In fact, they won't even be capable of complaining (Park Yun-sun). And even if the Lord does not immediately deliver us, we will still continue to serve Him. A servant recognizes the sovereignty of the master. How can a servant dare to complain or question the sovereign will of the Lord?

As we live our lives on this earth, we must look only to the Lord and strive towards that high place. This is the posture that Scripture teaches us as the Lord's servants. While we live on this earth, we must endure suffering for the Lord, seeing it as a necessary part of His grace. We should always look to the God who is our Lord. Especially, when our hearts are overflowing with the mockery and scorn of the "peaceful" and "proud," we must lean on the mighty hand of the Lord. His powerful right hand will hold ours and deliver us from the depths of despair. He alone is our Savior.

In the midst of this, let us not complain that the Lord's salvation is delayed. Instead, let us persevere and move forward, believing and looking only to the Lord.

 

Finally, in third place, we must look to the Lord until He shows us mercy.

Look at the second part of verse 2 and verse 3 of Psalm 123:
“…our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He is gracious to us. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.”

The psalmist did not cease praying while looking to the Lord until God showed him mercy (and grace). The Korean Bible says, “We wait for Him to have mercy on us,” but in the English NASB version, it says, “Until He shall be gracious to us.” In other words, the psalmist was determined not to stop looking to God until He bestowed His grace upon him. This reminds me of Jacob’s resolve while wrestling with the angel in Genesis 32:25: “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” (Genesis 32:25). Similarly, the psalmist did not stop praying while looking to the Lord until God poured out His mercy and grace.

Dr. Park Yun-sun said: “Therefore, he cries out to God. Prayer is the weapon of the saints. With it, he conquers all obstacles. Prayer can change circumstances, but if the circumstances do not change, the heart of the one who prays will be transformed, making him able to endure all obstacles.” (Park Yun-sun). By praying and looking to the Lord, either the difficult situation will change, or we, as the ones praying, will be transformed to overcome that situation.

We must remember four things when we pray to the Lord in difficult times, continually seeking His mercy and grace (Park Yun-sun):

  1. We must remember that the difficult situation we are facing is also by God's will.

  2. We must remember that it is God who gives us the strength to endure that situation.

  3. We must remember that even those circumstances can become a blessing from God.

  4. Finally, we must remember that God will guide us out of those circumstances in His own time.

One of the gospel songs we sometimes sing is “Only Look to the Lord.” You may be familiar with the lyrics of that song, which goes as follows:

(Verse 1):
“The one who longs for God's love,
The one who looks for God's peace,
The Lord who created all things, how much He loves you.”

(Verse 2):
“The one who praises and worships God,
The one who grows more like God's goodness,
The Lord who created all things, has made you His child.”

(Chorus):
“With eyes full of love, He looks at you always,
With His compassionate ear, He always listens to you.
He shines a bright light in the darkness,
And answers your smallest sigh.
Wherever you are, look to the Lord,
And only look to the Lord.”

Let us lift our eyes to the Lord who is in heaven. Humbly, let us rely on His powerful right hand and cry out to Him. Let us continue to pray to God until He has mercy on us and rescues us from our difficult situations.

 

 

 

As we reflect on the grace that enables us to pour our hearts out to God, our Father, in our weakness,

 

 

James Kim, Pastor
(With a heart of gratitude for God's saving grace)