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“LIFT UP YOUR EYES TO THE HEAVENS”

Isaiah 51:6



Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

and look at the earth beneath;

for the heavens vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;

but my salvation will be forever,

and my righteousness will never be dismayed.—Isaiah 51:6



Whenever you hear in the news that a transportation accident has occurred, whether it involves an airliner or some kind of motor vehicle, inevitably you also hear that an investigative team is on the scene in order to try to determine what caused the accident. The coaches of the Packers, even a week after their loss are still pouring over the last game footage in an attempt to discover what went wrong. If your checkbook doesn’t balance, you will probably review your figures once again to see where you made a mistake in your arithmetic.

As rationale people, we’re always trying to find a logical explanation as to why things turn out the way that they do. If something goes wrong, it is only natural that we want to retrace our steps to discover what was faulty, what was missing, what mistakes were committed that lead to the disastrous results.

Some are looking for that explanation in regard to the devastation of the Haitian earthquake. One well-known religious figure stated this past week that the earthquake was due to the fact that a few hundred years ago, supposedly, the Haitians made a pact with the devil—and now, a few hundred years later, God was cursing them for it.

But if that individual had any grasp of what the Bible actually teaches, he would have known that God never deals with us according to what we deserve. As Jesus said, the heavenly Father, “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust,” (Matt. 5:45). We could easily add, “and earthquakes upon the believers and the unbelievers.” At last report, there were several Christian clergy and missionaries who lost their lives in Haiti as well.

On one occasion, when Jesus and his disciples passed by a man who had been blind since birth, His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” [Once again, there’s that attempt to find a rational explanation to the situation.] “Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’”

Notice how the Lord redirects the conversation away from the blind man, away from the disciples, and back to Himself; for, He is the light of the world among them. He is to be the focus of their thoughts and their concerns. It was not their place to speculate about the whys and the wherefores behind this man’s trials. God is not answerable to us—we are answerable to Him.

Even the Lord’s own mother seemed to have forgotten that in that potentially embarrassing moment at the wedding party. “They have no wine” she said to Jesus. “And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’” Now, the Lord was not behaving impertinently toward Mary when He said that. It wasn’t as if He was implying that He couldn’t be bothered with such mundane things. Rather, He was simply redirecting her thoughts toward His will and wisdom—“what does this have to do with me?”

It is a truly wonderful question for us to always bear in mind! “What has this to do with Jesus?”

This past week, someone asked me the question as to why it seems that, throughout the Old Testament, you are constantly hearing about the work of God the Father and then, suddenly, when you get to the New Testament, the focus has shifted toward Christ. And my answer was that this is how the heavenly Father has chosen to reveal Himself to the world—it’s through Jesus. The spotlight most certainly is upon Jesus, there is no denying that. In fact, that’s what this season of Epiphany is all about—it’s about how God manifested Himself to the world through His Son. That’s why, when the disciple Philip once said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father,” (John 14:8,9). Once again, the Lord turns the attention toward Himself.

So, when we’re looking for rationale explanations toward the calamities in this world, when we’re looking for reasons as to why we are suffering the way that we are in our own personal lives, when we’re trying to figure out the whys and the wherefores for how things happen as they do—don’t begin with your life, your behavior, your sin, your righteousness, nor anyone else’s. Start first with Jesus Christ. Focus all of your attention, all of your prayers, and all of your trust on the fact that He is true God in human flesh Who came to deliver us from sin, death, and the power of the devil.

And if you’re looking for a logical explanation as to why He would do such a thing for us—you will be hard pressed to find one. Rather, the Lord’s commitment to you is based upon His grace alone. And His ultimate intention for you is to deliver you safely from this fallen world into the eternal glories of His fellowship.

The Lord said to Mary, “My hour has not yet come.” And the final hour of our deliverance has not yet come either. But, come it will—you can be certain of that. And the earthquakes and other natural disasters of which the Bible speaks will most certainly precede His coming. I’m fairly certain that this will not be the last time that I will be mentioning a catastrophic event in one of my sermons. After all, the Bible says that these are just the beginning of the birth pangs. And, most certainly, they will assist us in not getting too attached to the things of this world but, rather, to long all the more for that perfect life which is to come. We are able, at least, to offer that explanation for these occurrences without resorting to some kind of foolish, human conjecture.

In the meantime, we must guard ourselves against the arguments and distractions that would consume our thoughts when, instead, we should be focused upon Jesus. To get so caught up in those other speculations will only cause us to forget about the simplicity of faith.

God really does love the world so much that He gave His only-begotten Son to die for all—and that world includes the Haitians, as well as those who are prosperous, safe, and comfortable. And when the earthquakes occur, when the bad news strikes close to home, when the wine runs out, know that you have not been abandoned, overlooked, or forgotten. Lift up your eyes to heaven… the Lord’s salvation will be forever and His righteousness will never be dismayed.

So that, when that time arrives, when the entire earth is destroyed, and there you are being welcomed into the arms of your heavenly Father, and you ask yourself how it is that you got to where you are—what led to this glorious result—you will know, even as you know now by faith, that it all had to do with Jesus. He Who could turn water into wine, is also able to turn mortal, sinful people into everlasting saints.



Isaiah 62:1–5 1For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. 2The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. 3You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. 5For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

1 Corinthians 12:1–11 1Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

John 2:1–11 1On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.