E100: 25 – LIFT YOUR EYES

Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" He said, "No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, "What has my lord to say to his servant?" The captain of the LORD’S host said to Joshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.  Joshua 5:13-15

Joshua lifted his eyes…

sometimes we need to lift our eyes from our circumstances and our feet and our hands (our works) and look UP to God.

 

in my night time reading i have just read a series of psalms that mention lifting our eyes:

Psalm 121:1 A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from?

Psalm 123:1 A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven.

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Colossians 3:1  Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

there is just “something” about lifting our eyes, about looking with a different perspective and vantage point. 

 

i will lift my eyes from my i cants, to God’s i can

i will lift my eyes from my limitations, to God’s nothing is impossible

i will lift my eyes from my flaws, to God’s gift of forgiveness and righteousness through Christ

i will lift my eyes from my loneliness, to God’s promise that He is with me

i will lift my eyes from my exhaustion, to God’s invitation to come

i will lift my eyes from my excuses, to God’s encouragement that i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Joshua lifted his eyes from the land around him with all its challenges and cities to overcome and people ready to oppose him.

He lifted his eyes and behold, there was the captain of the host – Jesus in pre-jesus flesh – GOD WITH HIM

 

“As the manna had now failed, the people always greatly addicted to incredulity, might have been led to imagine that God had now given them up, and would be no longer in their armies, had he not given them this strong assurance, that the Angel of his presence should be with them as the guide and protector of the whole camp; for Joshua undoubtedly informed them of the encouragement he had received from the captain of the Lord’s host. By this vision he showed them that their help came from himself, and that it was not by human might or power, but by the Lord of hosts, they were to have the victory over all their adversaries; and he gave them the most convincing proof of this in the miraculous destruction of Jericho. By this means he continued to keep them dependent on his arm alone, without which dependence the spirit of religion could not have been preserved among them.”  Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible

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