WHEN THE WORLD IS CLOSING IN ON YOU (Psalm 123)

When the world is closing in on you from every side, there is only one thing you can do. You can look up.

Psalm 123 begins with these words in verse 1: “Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.”

Sometimes, we really get bogged down here on Earth. We get inundated by people and things until the stress and strain of it all gets to be too much. Those are the moments when you have to get your head up spiritually and get your eyes on the One who is above it all. He does not dwell in the circumstances down here like we do; He dwells in the heavens.

His way is higher than our way. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He has a much better perspective than we do.

You may recall that we read in Psalm 121:1-2, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.” In other words, let’s go to the highest pinnacle in this world, which is the hills, and then we’ll go higher than that. When we go beyond the tallest peak we can find, we will find a God who is greater than all.

He is not only bigger than this world in a physical sense but also bigger than anything you are dealing with today. So, if you feel as though you are caving in or being smothered by what is going on around you, do what the psalmist did and lift your eyes toward the Lord.

That is just the first verse of Psalm 123. There are three verses that follow, and in those he elaborated on this. Interestingly enough, he did so by repeating three things three times — three triplets, if you will.

A Picture

In verse 2, a beautiful picture of the eyes is shown three times. “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God.”

When everything is closing in on you, get your eyes back on the Lord. It is illustrated by the examples of servants. They are not wealthy, possibly even without any substance of their own, but they have kind and loving masters. That is who they are totally dependent on for their daily supply. The Psalmist was saying, “I am nothing but a lowly servant, Lord.”

That may not sound like it will do much for your self-esteem. Forget your self-esteem and choose instead to esteem God. Remember that you have a kind and loving Master who always takes care of His own. The maiden in this verse seems so insignificant, but every day, she is cared for in the same way that our eyes wait upon the Lord.

A Prayer

There is also a prayer with a threefold request. Beginning with the final phrase of verse 2 and a portion of verse 3: “Until that he have mercy upon us. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy upon us.”

If you are asked what you most need, you might respond by saying you need money for a financial burden or divine intervention in a relationship problem. If you boil it all down, the result is what every person needs every single day. That is mercy.

We pray for revival or for souls to be saved, but what we are really praying for is mercy because none of us deserves any good thing. If we got what we deserved, we would all be in Hell today or on our way there. But thank God we are not there. So lift your head up and thank Him.

“Lord, You are a God of mercy. You have already shown me such mercy and I am praying for it yet again.”

A Purpose

One final triplet displays a purpose and is noted in verses 3-4. “For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.”

This is the idea of the contempt and scorn that those who do not know God show toward His followers. This is the purpose, the reason why we need mercy, and why we must get our eyes back on the Lord alone. People are not going to appreciate us because they do not love our God.

We are living in a world in which there is a great deal of spiritual conflict going on. In fact, it is going on everywhere. It is not just political or social unrest; it is spiritual in nature.

Do you really think the devil is going to leave you alone when you are following Jesus? Do you think that wicked men are going to love you when they hate your Christ? That is why he said to His disciples in John 15:18, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”

There is a reason why there is such contempt for Christian people and those who are trying to do the right thing. It is your God who is being hated.

Why does the devil desire to see your life destroyed? None of us are really that important in and of ourselves. The reason is that you are that important to your God. The devil knows that the only way he can grieve the heart of God, who loved you so much that He gave His own Son for you, is to strike at you.

We should keep our eyes on the Lord every day because, frankly, it is not going to get any easier. If you are waiting for this world to become a friend to God, you are going to wait forever. Thankfully, this world also is not my home.

When this world closes in on you, remember that you are just a pilgrim passing through. Soon, you will be right where He is, dwelling in the heavens. This life will be but a memory and this time will be passed; we will then be with God forever in an eternal Heaven. How glorious that will be.

Until that day, keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep praying for mercy. Keep remembering that although there is contempt and scorn on every hand, our God is greater than all of it.

Maybe you are struggling with what you see going on in the nation or around the world. Perhaps it is a private matter that no one else even knows about. Just remember that from God’s vantage point in Heaven, He sees it perfectly and has everything under control.