Looking Up

"They claim their labors are to build a heaven, yet their heaven is populated by horrors." — Dr. Manhattan, "Watchmen" (2009).

I think that quote is kind of emblematic of our world today, which is why I like the idea of our new "Look Up" series so much. I think Graham really hit the nail on the head when he talked about the idea that everything in this world serves to pull our focus down.

When I first heard the quote from "Watchmen," that's what I thought about. In the human-centric society that exists today, much of the focus is on how we can build this place into what we dream. Our labors are to build a heaven, but when we take our focus off God and think we are capable of creating that reality ourselves, we inevitably fall short.

Sadly, it seems to take a crisis of some sort for us to reframe our gaze. I was watching the show "Supernatural" the other day and one of the main characters, Dean (Jensen Ackles), was at the end of his rope. Wandering around lost, drinking from a bottle he was in despair. Suddenly he put the bottle down and looked heavenward. With tears in his eyes, he spoke to God saying "I need help."

It was a powerful moment because we've all felt like that at some point in our lives. There is healing in admitting we need help and realizing where our help comes from. And the most amazing thing is that all we have to do is ask.

I was reading a book on prayer a friend gave me and one of the interesting take aways I had from the book was about the way we pray. Most of the time, culturally, we bow our heads and close our eyes. I was struck by the fact that the book noted that descriptions of prayer by people in the Bible most frequently looked different. They raised their heads to the heavens and spoke to God. In fact, Jesus frequently modeled this form of prayer.

This is not to say that there is anything wrong with a reverent approach but rather to highlight the power in lifting our eyes to the Lord. That is something I've been thinking about a lot this week, hopefully you'll do the same.

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