To my hopeful daughters—keep your eye on the ball.
“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 upon us.”
PSALM 123:2 (ESV)
In praying this psalm, the Holy Spirit drew my attention to this second verse of psalm 123, a short and simple song, yet it holds His power so steadily and with compelling focus.
Behold. Something my pastor once pointed out, and the Holy Spirit has beautifully been teaching me through, is the weight of the instruction, “behold.” It is a very specific action; when you are beholding something or someone, your attention is completely arrested. There is awe. In other words, look, look, look! Slow down and pay very close attention.
Look at how the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master! Look, look—see how the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress. Wherever their hands go or point to, their attention and their heart is there, listening closely and their eyes promptly follow every movement.
So our eyes look to the LORD our God!
In the ESV translation, the word “look” is italicized and curiously, I went to search its original hebrew meaning. The word is ayin (eye, sight, appearance.)And I was so thankful as He led me to this use of the word ayin—seeing as an act or state. Looking to God the Father, is not momentary, but it is a state.
In asking the Holy Spirit what this state is, He immediately showed me a young little boy up next at home plate in a baseball game. Very focused. Not talking, but taking the position, with his clean uniform and a big helmet on. My perspective was from behind him; I couldn’t see the crowd, teammates, coach, opponents…nothing but him getting ready. And Jesus just allowed me to feel His heart, so tender: He just wanted to encourage him and He was so happy to see him taking his position. He did not say anything, but just watched him get ready like a proud Father.
His heart. His heart!
my heart.
“Clothing, the uniform—hope.”
Now it’s time to behold the clothing, the uniform. And moreover, in the context of hope.
uniform - the clothes worn by the members of a sports team when they are playing.
Hope. This is the uniform that we need in order to play. It shows our Father, and others, that we are on His winning team. Hope is the garment that we wear when we are up at the plate. When we are ready to bat. When we are waiting to swing! For all those who believe, this is our uniform; it is the costly garment that the Father has purchased + prepared for us in Christ Jesus!
The child. Children are not coming to play professionally nor do they concern themselves with ins-and outs of the game. There is joy—they want to play; they want to hit the ball; they want to run! Is this not what our Father desires for us as well? Play! Oh how simple the gospel is, how perfect and good His love is. Looking to Him is the same posture as the child at the plate. The state of hope we ought to remain in. Waiting attentively + with a pure heart for a ball that is going to come.
The ball is going to come. He is so faithful.
So, we must be found at the plate—but being in uniform is what gets us on the field. Thank You Father for allowing us to see what hopelessness robs us of. Moreover, the crowd can keep their eye on the ball too, but it’s not the same as being the batter. He has given us an everlasting hope so that we can stay in the game + play with impact and endure, not just spectate. The batter makes unique contact with the ball, the word of God: intimate, divine joy and peace in the fulfillment of His promises! And how much more a ready and confident batter, with the LORD as their coach, their stance, their swing, their everything. Hope is one way to maximize our walk with God and it so pleases Him when we wait on Him. Looking to the LORD is what gets us on the field…and He is happy to see us there.
This is the verse He has for us to behold.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Romans 15:13 (ESV)
You are His beloved daughter. He saw you and chose you to be on His team, forever. It’s game day; let’s suit up and encourage those around us to do the same—hope in God! It is always better when hope is shared; we need each other. May God lead us deeper into His love and strengthen our hope, our gaze at Him, in the name of the Lord, amen.
“May the God of hope (He who gives the uniform)
fill you will joy and peace in believing (receive, like a child, the fact that you are already on His team + yay! put on your uniform),
so that by the power of the Holy Spirit (our Helper to perceive the truth—the Word of God—and the grace to keep our eyes on the ball, the truth)
you may abound (excel, over and above, “hit it out of the park")
in hope” (the team uniform).
oh glory, all glory and honor be unto God our loving Father, in Jesus name, amen. so thankful.
Additional scripture.
-
1 "To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.
-
“…then you will know that I am the LORD;
those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”
-
-
The language data is provided by Oxford Languages, part of Oxford University Press.