Look Up!

At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.

Daniel 4:34

The great King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon stood atop the world in the sixth century B.C. But when he became too full of thoughts of himself and his own glory, God disgraced him. He took his mind from him and He humbled him and caused Nebuchadnezzar to live like an animal in the field. How fitting it is that his sanity should return the moment he lifted his eyes up off the grass, beyond himself, and up toward heaven. 

There are many times in my life when casting my gaze on heaven seems like the only sane act in this crazy world. Like Nebuchadnezzar, I sometimes find myself with my head down eating the grass of daily existence. Caught up in the mundane and never-ending routines that take up so much of our time and that the great teacher of Ecclesiastes called "meaningless." It is only as I lift my eyes toward heaven that sanity and meaning are given to the things that drive me crazy. 

Sometimes I look up to laugh at the insanity of our world. Sometimes to cry. At other times I look up in worship and at others to plead for help. But always the Lord lifts my gaze up toward Himself. As long as my eyes rest on heaven, my troubles don't seem big enough to crush me, nor do my successes shine bright enough to distract me. 

So cast your eyes on the Lord today! Look to Him and plead, pray, mourn, laugh, or worship. Look to Him in whatever way is fitting for you and your circumstances, only be careful to never lower your gaze.