When my nephew was a teenager, I used to tell him, "Hey buddy, don't look at your phone screen nonstop for too long." I'd say, "Every ten minutes or so, raise your eyes and look away." Why? Because I read somewhere that when we look at something up close for too long, our eye muscles tense up. The same principle applies to our spiritual lives as well. Just as our eyes need to rest and look away from the screens to avoid strain, our spiritual eyes need the same care and attention.
Here's an interesting fact about our eyes: When we focus on something near, like a book or a phone, the muscles in our eyes stretch, and the lens curvature increases. This helps us see the details clearly. However, after prolonged focus, these muscles get tired. Ophthalmologists suggest that to relax your eyes properly, you need to look away from your screens and focus on something in the distance for a few minutes. This helps the eye muscles relax and restore themselves.
In our spiritual lives, we often find ourselves focusing on our immediate problems, our daily struggles, and our trials. We get so caught up in the here and now that our spiritual vision becomes strained and weary. We dwell too long on the difficulties and lose sight of the bigger picture.
But there's a solution! Just as we give our physical eyes a break, we need to give our spiritual eyes a break, too. We need to lift our eyes from our immediate troubles and refocus on God's promises. We need to look away from the temporary and gaze upon the eternal. When we lift our eyes to the hills, we remember where our help comes from—from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
So, whenever you feel overwhelmed, whenever your spiritual vision gets weary, look up to heaven and pray: “I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2). Lift your eyes, my friends, and find your help, your strength, your vision in the Lord.
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