Scripture:
“I was glad when they said to me “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God till He has mercy on us.” Ps 122:1 and 123:1-2
Observation:
I observe that many of these later Psalms are of the vein of calling to recalibrate our minds to Whom we worship: not tasks, not stuff, not anything but “You, only You, are God and the love of my life. I want to see You and savor You all my days…”
Application:
I like the word “calibrate.”
In the laboratory, measuring instruments have to be calibrated to a standard. This is so the results of that instrument will match the instrument on the other desk. A scale has to be calibrated to a standard so the weights will be what is expected-1 pound on this scale will be the same as 1 pound on another. I remember from Proverbs that unequal scales are an abomination to the Lord.
So what does “calibrate” have to do with these passages?
Just this: I can move off center on the main focus for me: God Himself. All the stuff I am supposed to do, all of the objectives, the tasks, the actions can get me so involved that I forget that the target of all these actions revolves around God.
Peter wrote: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Pet 2:9) I think it is important to note that to “proclaim the excellencies of Him” Peter writes about precursors: Proclaiming His Excellencies is not only to ones who haven’t heard it before but to our own hearts and our church community as well so that we remember (often) Whom we serve.
So we “recalibrate” our minds just like we are directed in Romans 12.
I remember what Jesus said to the Disciples when they came back from being sent to declare the Kingdom. The Disciples were stoked about responses, healings at their hands, demons being tossed…a bunch of good stuff, exciting stuff. Jesus said, “Glad you enjoyed yourselves but get your head on straight. First be glad your names are written in the Book of Life.” Perhaps the short version is “Him first, them second.”
Prayer:
Father, I must write this to myself over and over, pounding it with a holy hammer (as it were) because I forget so quickly and so often. Help me, I pray, not to be so focused on the task before me that I forget the One who sent me. Teach me to worship You even more. AMEN.