Psalm 123:2
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress; so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He shall be gracious to us.
I can’t imagine ever being somebody else’s slave or servant. I think I’d rather assume the position of prisoner or hostage that to be someone’s slave. Even prisoners have more rights than slaves. And hostages aren’t usually in that position for long periods of time.
But if I were a slave, or even a servant, I would have to do everything at my master’s beckon. From the time I got up till the time I was allowed to go to bed, not one choice would be of my own. To be a slave means that you must look to your master for everything. It is one of the most hopeless and helpless positions any human has ever held.
And yet, the Psalmist proclaims, “As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master… so our eyes look to the Lord our God.”
I’ll be the first to admit that one of the largest problems in my relationship with the Lord is my failure to look at him like the author of Psalm 123 did. Instead of humbly (and even somewhat fearfully) coming to the Lord with my requests, I seem to throw them in His face. I don’t fall on my knees in respect, hoping that “He shall be gracious to me.” Instead, I tell Him what I want, by what time I need it, and why He should give it to me.
The Lord tells us not to be ashamed or scared to come to Him with our needs. That doesn’t excuse our poor behavior in doing so though. Why do we show our parents more respect than our own Creator most of the time? It just doesn’t add up.