9/5/26

Psalm 141:8 NASB95 For my eyes are toward You, O GOD, the Lord; In You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless.

David in prayer says, " My eyes, I have kept on You, O Lord. In so doing, I am trusting you to protect me from an unseen attack.

David shows that while his eyes are focused on God, his flesh is still sensing the things going on around him and providing him with concerns.

It is like a horse with blinders. They keep the horse from being distracted by items that are not in its path. However, they do not stop it from hearing a firecracker explode behind it, which can cause it to run away. Just like a fly bite on its side that can cause it to turn its head and stumble.

David knows that he should keep his complete focus on God, and God will protect him, but his fleshly senses are still tempting him to look away and lose sight. Because of this, David cries out, "Do not leave me defenseless."

Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, explains it in Matthew 6:33 NASB95: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Seek, look, focus on God, His Kingdom, and His Righteousness, then you will not need to worry about all the worldly things. Because God has them taken care of. Jesus, just a few sentences before, gives some examples of things that might cause you to take your eye off the prize. He says in Matthew 6:31 NASB95, “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’

We tend to do the same thing as David. We often lose focus and turn our eyes to earthly prizes and lose sight of God and His eternal blessings. We must keep our focus, our sight, our eyes, and all our senses on God. If we do, He will take care of everything else and guide us to our destination and our eternal prize of life in His presence. However, if we don't, we will stumble.

This verse makes me think of an old motto of the American civil rights movement. It was originally taken from this thought in the Bible. The motto was "Keep your eyes on the prize"; it was penned to a song written about two Christians being held in Jail. Their true story is found in Acts 16, starting in verse 22. I am going to end today's Devotional with the lyrics to the song.

Paul and Silas bound in jail

Had no money for to go their bail

Keep your eyes on the prize

Hold on, hold on

Hold on, hold on

Keep your eyes on the prize

Hold on, hold on

The very moment I thought I was lost

The dungeon shook and the chains fell off

Keep your eyes on the prize

Hold on, hold on

Hold on, hold on

Keep your eyes on the prize

Hold on, hold on

Only thing that we did wrong

Was staying in the wilderness too long

Keep your eyes on the prize

Hold on, hold on

Hold on, hold on

Keep your eyes on the prize

Hold on, hold on

The only thing that we did right

Was the day we begun to fight

Keep your eyes on the prize

Hold on, hold on

Hold on, hold on

Keep your eyes on the prize

Hold on, hold on

Keep your eyes focused with all your senses on Jesus. God's got the rest. So just hold on!

Love, Brother Scott.