Lift Up My Eyes to You 1A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to You, the One enthroned in heaven. 2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are on the LORD our God until He shows us mercy. 3Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy, for we have endured much contempt.… I have found loads of consolation these last few months in recalling the truth that when I turn my mind and heart to God and the things of God I feel only joy. When however I turn my mind away to other things , joy fades. St Teresa of Avila compared random thoughts wandering around to a swarm of bees which we must shepherd gently back tot eh honey of the Heart of God. Falling asleep in prayer has been compared to a baby falling asleep in the lap of its mother. What mother would blame a baby for doing such a thing. Finding a faults in our prayer is maybe a sign that we are paying attention to our prayer. We would not notice our minds drifting from God if we weren't paying attention to God in the first place.
I too find that if I keep my eyes on Jesus I am peaceful even joyful. But if I turn my attention to the world even for a short time I start to slip and slide. This is a beautiful psalm.
I was listening to an Irish lady today who has wrote a book on howto avoid depression and malaise associated with the lock down. She suggests taking things one hour at a time. Much the same idea as with alcoholics , 'One day at a time sweet Jesus'. But the real answer to sadness is prayer. We look at the face of joy and encounter joy, peace and healing. Always to look at the Face of God in prayer is always to encounter healing, joy, peace heaven on Earth. Its the same with most of our Spiritual Leaders. Very, very few speak of the true path to healing. That the cause of this Chastisement is our sins. ..and that the path out of this Chastisement is Repentance, Fasting , Prayer, Seeking Deliverance for God. Seek the Face of the Lord that you may Live. Psalm 27:4 The LORD is My Salvation …3Though an army encamps around me, my heart will not fear; though a war breaks out against me, I will keep my trust. 4One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple. 5For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.…
I'm reading a book that says we are to praise God even when we don't feel like it. If we are really, really down, the antidote is to pray with praise for God who is our Redeemer and so many other things. I'm really enjoying the process here. This book I plan on keeping for future reference on days my depression kicks in. Those are the days when I most forget that God is worthy of praise even when things go wrong. Prayers might not keep the bad away from us, but it will help us get through whatever comes our way.
