Psa 123:1 A Song of degrees. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

The enemies of God's people ask: Where is your God? Our answer: Our God is in the heavens. In an earlier psalm, the psalmist asked: “From whence cometh my help?” (Psalm 121:1). He said he lifted his eyes upon the hills. The hills were tall and great. But they could not help him. He said instead: “My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2). We are to lift up our eyes to God: “Unto thee lift I up mine eyes” (v.1). God dwells in the heavens. Heavens are above us. If we want to go to heaven, we have to look up to God. Anyone who wants to go to heaven but do not want God is having a hopeless dream. God is in the heavens and therefore, to seek God, we need to look up. The Psalmist looked so high that he could look no higher; God dwells higher than the hills. The psalmist looked beyond the hills. It is most natural to think of God as being above us, in that glory-land which lies beyond the skies: “O thou that dwellest in the heavens” (v.1b). Where else would you look for God? Above, of course! It is good to have someone to look up to. What does it mean to look up to someone? Looking up to someone means you want to follow his footsteps. It means he is someone you admire and respect and want for your role model; you look up to him like looking up at a hero. We need our role models for various reason like giving us directions and motivations. Unfortunately, our role models are rarely perfect; they fail us. When I was a teenager, I admired one preacher for his great preaching skill. I said I want to preach like him. Well, he left his wife for another woman and quit on God. What a disappointment! He wasn’t the only “great” preacher who fell from grace. There is only one role model who is perfect. He is our Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter exhorts: “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:21, 22). Our Lord did not sin; He is perfect. He is the one we should lift up our eyes to. The Scripture says: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus is the perfect role model. We are to look to His holy life, to His patience and perseverance in trials, to what He endured in order to obtain the crown, and to His final success and triumph. Jesus shows us how to be victorious in this Christian race. When we cannot look to any helper here, it is greatly wise to look above us. The One who created all things both in heaven and on earth can certainly do great things for us. God wants us to look up. If you are constantly walking with your eyes on the ground, you are going to miss out on so much in life. Look at the people today; they are constantly looking down at their handphones. They don’t realise they are missing out on so many things in this life. Still, the most important thing they may miss out is heaven: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). God wants us to look up. I like this statement by one writer: “If the outlook in your life is disturbing, try the uplook.” The world is a distraction; look up. Who is your role model? To Christians, there is only one; He is the Lord Jesus.