Keep Looking Up!

Tuesday, 10 Dec 2002

It hovered silently over the game I watched on TV this last Sunday. Below it, thousands of people gathered in the stadium to watch the Raiders play the Chargers in San Diego. It was a beautiful day. They said it was perfect football weather. The kind of weather Californian's enjoy during a game. I know it's the kind I enjoy because cold is not my choice, I like to be warm!

What hovered over the game was the blimp and the view from the blimp reminded me of the view God might have on our world, on each one of us. I was amazed at this scene of thousands of people at one time and His ability to look down upon it, knowing each one of us.
He knows what we're thinking.
He knows what we're feeling.
He knows what we're going through.
He knows each hair on our head.
His knowing is so far above anything we could ever imagine!

"He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. I am of the earth, and my understanding is limited to the things of earth, but he has come from heaven."
John 3:31
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Here we are, wrapped up in our own lives, getting sucked under by the pull of this world, the stress of this world, the busyness of this world, and God is watching over every detail.
Most times we are so unaware of His presence.
Most times we miss all that He is doing for us.
Most times we are just too busy with ourselves to even allow Him an inch of space to work in our lives.
And yet, He is there watching over it all. Loving us despite our narrow minded-ness, our short-sighted-ness, and our self absorption. Waiting for us to look up, as we would at the blimp hovering above, and simply acknowledge that He is there.

John the Baptist said this about Jesus:

"He tells what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them!
Those who believe him discover that God is true."
John 3:32-33
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If we would simply "look up" and take our eyes off the "game" for a moment, we would discover that God is true. That He is watching over us, and that He cares about every detail of our lives.

The enemy's plan is this...distract the people with anything and everything that might block their view of God. Pull their attention away from all that matters most. Get them caught up in the little tiny things in the "game" that turn their mole hills into mountains. Tie them up into knots so tight that they can't breathe. Keep them looking down at the flags thrown, at the "penalties" in front of them, or behind them, or all around them, and do everything possible to keep their eyes from looking "up". Because if they do, even for a second, they will see the "Blimp" hovering over them, and they will discover that there is more to this life than what is on the "field".

"But if you don't even believe me when I tell you about things that happen here on earth, how can you possibly believe if I tell you what is going on in heaven. For only I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven again."
John 3:12
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We have to believe that the "Blimp" is hovering, even if our eyes are so focused on the game at times. We all know that there are times when the game will be too intense and we will get so caught up in the action, we will miss the "Blimp" overhead. It will be so silent we will forget that it is there, but it is! If we were to get up out of our seat and make our way to our car in the parking lot, it can see us. If we were to leave the stadium and drive back to our home, it could follow us silently. If we were to go into our homes and settle into our easy chair and watch another game, it could wait up above for us. We may never notice it, but that doesn't mean that it isn't there. It has the power to hover above our lives.

Is God the same way? Does He hover over us silently, protecting us, watching over our every move, yearning to be a part of our lives, yet waiting patiently for us to look up for Him? To notice that He is there?

Jeremiah 31:10
"Listen to this message from the Lord, you nations of the world; proclaim it in distant coastlands: The Lord, who scattered his people, will gather them together and watch over them as a shepherd does his flock.
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The real blimp has no control over anything. It just sits there in the sky with a camera pointed toward earth, recording events that are happening. It has a limited amount of flight time before it must land, and it is flown by human beings.

God is ever present. He is always there, hovering over our lives. He has no limited amount of flight time, and He never needs to "land". He is, He was, and He will always be. He does not have to zoom in to see the hairs on our heads because He already knows each one. He already knows when we will leave the stadium and where we will drive home to. He knows the intimate details of our lives, and He yearns to be a part of them. But just as we won't see the blimp if we don't look up, we won't see God in our lives if we don't look for Him and seek Him.

But although the world was made through him, the world didn't recognize him when he came. Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted.
John 1:10
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So many never "look up". So many miss Him. So many miss what is most important in this world, because they think this is all there is. This "field", these plays, this time period. They don't realize all there really is and they miss the greatest part of life, the greatest joy there is.

Don't get me wrong, the "game" can be good. It can be fun, and it can be exciting. There can be moments of great joy! But...what happens when the game is over? When it's time to go "home". What happens then? What becomes important then?

It reminds me of a home tour I was just on this last Friday. We toured homes in the Fresno area that are put on display to raise money for the children's hospital there in Fresno. It is a new hospital now, not the same one Phil spent time in, but the same organization. The women in my family have done this tour for many years. It is a big day! We all gather at my brother and sister-in-law's house and get the tickets that were bought, divide up into cars and travel from home to home enjoying all the holiday decorations in each one as well as the spectacular rooms in each home that are beautifully designed. We "ooh" and "ahh" over each home we enter, as the smell of cinnamon or some other wonderful scent fills the air, the fireplaces are lit and the women from the guild smile and welcome us into each home. It is the perfect picture of a perfect home, but one thing is missing...the love of the family that lives there. They are not at home. They have left for the day as we all enter into their world for a moment in time. Touring their homes only tells us what colors they like, what fabrics they desire, what floor plan works best for them but it doesn't tell us what happens when they come home...what they do there, what their relationships are like, what is important to them, what trials they endure, what is happening in their life?

We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought
to us - one gracious blessing after another.
John 1:16
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Do these families know about the "Blimp"? Have they looked up from the beauty of their homes and connected with their Father in heaven? Have they benefited from His rich blessings only to have missed out on the greatest gift of all, His Son? I pray not! I pray that each home I entered into held a family that knows the reason for the season. Knows what is to be celebrated this Christmas above all things. Above all possessions and beautiful furniture arrangements and color designs. I pray that when they come home, they know the greatest Designer of all times. The Creator of the Universe! The Painter of the skies!

The women in our family have laughed together at the end of touring these homes. We laugh because we leave these beautiful homes and we walk back into ours. We laugh because we live in ordinary homes whose interiors are designed by us, not professionally done. We may have left some dishes in the sink or our beds unmade. Our garbage may need to be taken out and we "forgot" to leave the scent of cinnamon simmering on our stove for our return. We laugh because we don't live in homes like the ones we just toured, and sometimes it is a harsh reality that hits us when we return to our homes if we get too focused on the "field" and forget that the "Blimp" is always with us. That God is what is most important and that our joy is not dependent on the beauty created by a professional designer when we have the greatest Designer of all times creating our lives in the most magnificent way!

Jesus said:

"Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Son of Man,
have no home of my own, not even a place to lay my head."
Matthew 8:20
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Jesus was the most joyful, the most peaceful, the most fulfilled Person that ever walked the face of this earth, and He didn't even have a permanent place to lay His head. Beautiful homes bring us happiness, rooms decorated by professional designers can thrill our sense of sight, but what brings joy to the heart this Christmas is found only by looking up. By looking at all that God has provided in our lives whether it be little or much and being grateful for His design for our lives. It is perfect, it is without flaw and it is the most beautiful picture ever painted. In that picture there are dabs of green for growth, black for the hard times, white for our cleansing, red for the blood of our Savior, yellow for the joy of living, blue for the seas and brown for the dust we were brought forth from, and to which we will return. A picture can't be painted with just one color, it has to have all the colors of the rainbow and even more to add the dimension to our lives that make a life full. It has to have hard times and good times, sad times and happy times, fun times and struggling times to bring it all together into the fullness of God's design. And through it all, we need to remember who the Painter is, and that His hand is upon every detail, in every day, and He makes no mistakes.

Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
1 Corinthians 1:27-29
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Jesus was not ashamed because He didn't have a place to lay His head. It made no difference to Him because He came from Heaven and to Heaven He would return. What mattered to Him was how many of His lost sheep would be in heaven with Him after that final trumpet sounds. When the "game" is over and we leave this stadium to travel home, where will we be heading? Will we be entering into the most beautifully designed home that is beyond our wildest imagination or will we be entering into a place of disappointment and sorrow? Will we look up during this "game" we call life and take notice of God, follow where He leads us and find the satisfaction and joy that He wants for all of us, or will we turn and walk our own direction, get back into our cars and drive ourselves to the point of misery and confusion because we don't take the time to realize that God is watching over us, wanting to guide us to His heavenly home?

Jesus said:

"You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me so that I can give you this eternal life. Your approval or disapproval means nothings to me, because I know you don't have God's love within you. For I have come to you representing my Father, and you refuse to welcome me, even though you readily accept others who represent only themselves. No wonder you can't believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don't care about the honor that comes from God alone."
John 5:41-44
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We refuse to look up!! We refuse our eternal life because we get so caught up in the "game" we honor it more than we honor God. We ooh and ahhh more over the decorations put on display by human hands rather than the creation of the One and Only Creator of the Universe! We get distracted by the plays, by the strategies, by our opponents, and we forget that God is our refuge, our resting place in times of trouble and our greatest joy as we walk upon this earth. He will lead us Home, and His Home will be Magnificent, Stupendous, Outstanding, Wonderful, and beyond anything we could ever imagine, much less design on this earth!

Lord, when our time is through, lead us home to You!!  We will smell Your scent in the air, we will feel Your arms wrapped tightly around us, and we will be with You forever.
We will never have to leave that Home again.
We will never have to feel disappointment again, or sorrow again.
We will leave those things behind on the "field" as we enter into the place You have prepared for us because we looked up and found You watching over us, and we began to watch for You each day of our lives.
By looking to You, You bring joy unspeakable.
Help us to not concentrate on the "game' in front of us, but on You.
Help us to know that You are always with us even when a "yellow flag" is thrown onto our field of life because we may have held onto something for too long or been some place we shouldn't have been.
Help us to remember that those things do not have to stop us from making progress toward You and toward the goal that You have set before us!
Help us to encourage one another toward that goal so that we will all celebrate forevermore in Your Heavenly Home!

God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
John 3:17
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God is not the one throwing the flags, calling penalties and sending us back ten yards. He is the One watching over us, cheering us on, blocking the opponent and making a clear path to the goal line of heaven if we will only look for Him and follow His lead.

"And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Matthew 28:20b
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Looking up and living in His peace,
Diane