The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 121:1-4, “I Will lift up my eyes to the mountains;

From whence shall my help come? 2 My help comes from the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to slip;

He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Every day seems to bring more and more trouble. The psalmist

has a choice: he can drop his head and look downward, and think

of all the troubles that surround him, or he can lift up his head and

his eyes and behold help. We can do the same. Ellicott explains

this in classical expression:

“The hills evermore summon us to look up. The influence of the world begets a downward look,

a sort of set of the eyes and heart downwards. We are in the world; in a thousand subtle ways

we are kin with the world. We are subject to its influences, caught by its wind of excitement,

absorbed by its pressing claims, and then we may easily be of the world as well as in it. But

everything the world presents to us is below us, beneath us, and it so keeps us looking down that

at last the habit of down-looking grows upon us. The world offers the attraction of its riches, but money is all below us, and we must look down upon it. The world fascinates us with its learning

and its science, but books and experiments are all below us, we must look down upon them. The world bids the siren pleasure float on golden wing before us, winning us to her pursuit; but she

ever flies low, and we must look down upon her. Even the better things that the world may give

us, the things of family life and love, are still all below us; we look down even on the children about our feet.”

But, as with the psalmist, so with us: “My help comes from the LORD.” Is He able to help?

He “made Heaven and Earth.” How’s that for a start? Further, “He will not allow (our) foot

to slip.” But His help is not when we’re looking downward at our feet, but when we’re look

upward toward Him. He’s always awake and alert to our needs. Just keep looking upward

toward Him!

You are in our daily prayers; please keep us in yours,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”