Psalm 123

Psalm 123
I lift up my eyes to you,
to you whose throne is in heaven.

2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till he shows us his mercy.

3 Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us,
for we have endured much contempt.

4 We have endured much ridicule from the proud,
much contempt from the arrogant.

I read this psalm one morning as I was sitting in my house, allowing the Lord to speak to me. I was thinking about the image of a maid watching the hand of her mistress, intently waiting for any move or indication. As I moved in my chair, I noticed my dog intently staring at me. He was sitting at my side, watching my every movement. If I shifted, he took notice. If I got up to use the restroom, he followed. If I stayed still with no movement for too long, he would put his face on my lap.

Now, I know my dog was not aware of the psalm. But this was such a read picture of what I had been reading. Sammy's whole life is based on mine. I am his master and he knows that. He depends on me for food, for exercise, for affection, for safety. That morning he was watching my every move to see if it was time to go for our morning walk yet. He was waiting for an indication that it was time to play. He was waiting for me because I meet his needs.

I don't do this so well with the Lord. I don't watch for every movement of His hands, though I want to. I very much want to see every place He is moving in my life. But I'm lazy or think I'm too busy with my things. I'm sure servants had plenty to do too, but they knew the importance of knowing exactly what was happening with their masters. If I truly believed the Lord was the provider and the One who met all my needs, how much more attentive to Him would I be?

O Lord, that I could be as attentive as my dog. That I would watch your hand closely, waiting for you to move. I know that you are the giver of life and the provider and sustainer of that life. I will wait for you, though not very well sometimes, because I have no live outside of you. You are the master of my life; let me look to you as such rather than ask you to keep up with my plans. Thank you for a picture so tangible and clear to remind me to watch you.