Once at church, our pastor shared a story that I want to use today. He was taking a walk in a state park with friends, and he was so concerned with snakes that he looked down at the path in front of him with each step to make sure he wasn’t going to step on one. Because his focus was on his feet, he almost missed the real danger: a large alligator stretched across the path about twenty feet in front of him. It took someone else to yell at him, “Hey, look up!” to make him realize that his focus was off.

Hmm… Someone else had to yell at him to get his focus right. Where is your focus today? Has yours been on your feet as well? We get so consumed in our everyday problems  that we can’t see anything else—all we see are the bills, the unloving spouse, the job rejection, the challenges of the kids, the health issues, and so on! We keep looking down at these problems and getting overwhelmed by them. Sometimes, we need a friend to yell at us and say, “Hey, look up!”

When you look up, what do you see? His Majesty? Not yet? Okay, then look a little higher. Maybe a little higher yet. You’re getting closer—now a little bit higher. There you go! He wants you to see that His Majesty was made for you, specifically for you! He has made a Masterpiece—you! He does not make anything but Masterpieces. Sometimes, we just don’t recognize this beauty because our focus is off and we are looking down.

It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus, and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.
Ephesians 2:10

God planned us long ago. He placed us right here, right now for His specific purpose. He wanted us to work through our struggles. We are not sure exactly why, but maybe it’s to help someone else whose struggles are even tougher than our own. Maybe your purpose today is to yell out to someone, “Hey, look up!”

So today, let’s “look up” and thank the Lord for making a Masterpiece, for making us!

We pray, God, for You to give us the strength and courage to “look up” to face the challenges of today—straight on. In addition, Lord, we ask that You help us change our own focus, to turn to our friends, neighbors, or strangers and tell them to “look up” as well—they need the encouragement, too.

Have an uplifting day.