LOOKING UP July 3, 2020

It seems everywhere one sees these days, things are not looking good.  CoViD-19 positive and sick (and death) are steadily rising, more and more companies declaring bankruptcy, more employees and workers being laid off, more and more debts and loans piling up on governments and business organizations, more people declaring unemployment and falling in poverty, and the increasing militarization of governments and administrations are more than enough for one to feel paranoid and helpless.

One local telecom company promoted their load plans and one of the phrases used was, “Go, Encourage!”  Because of too much information nowadays, many of them depressing, one cannot help but feel the burden of discouragement.  And truly, if there is anything more constructive that one must do, it is to give hope and encouragement to himself and the people around his sphere of influence. 

But I learned that encouragement is both a function of our external circumstances, as much as it is an internal resolution.  A person who doesn’t think himself important enough to matter would have a hard time building up his self-esteem.  How much more to encourage other people?  And yet, one could not build up one’s confidence if there is no external stimulus and input that triggered a person to have an optimistic view of life, and have the initiative to make others see it too.

And so here we realize the importance of good inputs.  One must not only depend on the news, the social media feeds, and the entertainment we get from surfing the internet.  These are all forms of escape, but it doesn’t bring us any closer to having hope and inner peace.  It is important then, to turn to timeless wisdom in order to have a proper perspective and right understanding about what is happening around us.

The Word today is one such beacon of light in a world ruled by sickness, sorrow and fear.  In the book of Psalms chapter 34 verse 3, King David tells us that, “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”  There is no precondition here, regardless of what we feel, in spite of our difficulties and sufferings, let all we are and everything we have experienced and going through, magnify His name in our lives. 

Some of the reasons why we can do this are stated in verse 4: “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears”; verse 6: “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles”; verse 7: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them”; verse 9: “O fear the Lord, all His saints: for there is no want to them who fear Him”; verse 15: “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry”; verse 18: “The Lord is near to them who are brokenhearted; and saves those who have a humble spirit”; and verse 22: “The Lord redeems the soul of His servants; and none of them who trust in Him shall be desolate [or forsaken]”.

Passages of Scripture that abound with so much promises all in just one short chapter are not that many, but maybe our GOD who inspired these words in His servant saw until our time today, and gave us these many assurances so that we may not anymore feel discouraged.  If we could only believe that we have a GOD whose eyes and ears are attentive to our every need and every circumstance, no lies and terrors hurled on us by the enemy of our soul can weaken us.  We only need to accept Him into our lives, and start living according to His will, so that we can experience the blessings He is so willing to shower upon us.

Indeed, the world around us may get destroyed and the things we trust and depend on may fall down, but we know that as His children, everything in life is actually looking up.