Recently, I headed down to my prayer chair at 5:30 a.m. Living in Colorado Springs above 7,500 feet, I'm accustomed to having the sun shine some 300 days a year. It was apparent even early that morning, however, that this would not be one of those sunny days.

As daylight broke, I could see heavy clouds surrounding me, obliterating the view of the mountains. I looked out my office window and grew overwhelmed at not only the greyness outside but also the heaviness in my heart. My brother is facing a life or death struggle, and an elderly man I know is about to go out into eternity while continuing to reject Christ.

I spent time talking to God, but my prayer seemed to go no further than the shrouding clouds outside. I listened to worship music while I got busy with my day. But around noon, I once again looked out my office window, and I stopped to ponder what I saw.

The clouds had lifted. Not all of them, but enough to remind me that the mountains were still there. Though patches of smokey haze still hung in the air and hid much of the terrain, I was able to see past it to what was really there.

I pulled out my Bible and read Psalm 121:1: "I will lift up my eyes to the hills--from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."

I will lift my eyes to what's behind the circumstances where I find the One who owns the cattle on "a thousand hills" (Ps. 50:10). It's a deliberate decision. An act of faith--despite how I feel or what I see or hear. Look at these words from Psalm 95:4-7:

"In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it;
And his hands formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before th Lord or Maker.
For He is our God.
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand."

You, too, might be going through hard stuff or may have received some bad news. Perhaps this reminder can also speak to you. No matter what your difficulty is, look to the hills. Instead of wallowing in despair, worship and bow down. Instead of concentrating on the clouds, look up. The problems might still be there, but so are the hills and the One who dwells in them.

Fact is, we'll never be free from all troubles, but we'll also never escape God's care.
And if we can make it a habit to intentionally look up, we will always find the help we need there.