We open our eyes, and immediately, IT’S right there in our thoughts.
We drive toward our job, and IT travels with us, buckled in the seat, right beside us.
We plan for our holiday, for a getaway, and there IT is, sitting there, beside us, even though we had hoped to not take IT along.
We attend the soccer game of our best friend’s child, and there IT is, already there, waiting for us to pick IT up and carry IT home with us.
We sit to rest at the end of a long workday, and there, beside us on the couch, there IT reclines, right beside us, even snuggled with us underneath the comfy throw that we enjoy.
IT.
Why can’t we leave IT behind us?
Why must IT travel with us, eat with us, go to sleep in our bed with us, go to play with us, even rise up and shower with us, and gather at our dinner table with us?
WHY?

Last week, a dear friend of mine traveled with me to Laurel Lake Church Camp to carry a meal to our youth.  Thirty-five 6th to 12th graders studying God’s Word, playing hard, eating together, and laughing long—the perfect mixture for lifelong friendships to be made and for God to set free His creation.
We drove the beautifully, crooked highway to the camp, arriving early (right before the daily thunderstorm that we seemed to be enjoying that week), and then we fed the hungry teens and youth workers; yet, that was not the final blessing of the day.  We stayed for the worship service, and while there, Tina stood up to talk, to share a story that was on her heart, one that fit perfectly with what this blog is attempting to reveal today about God.
That evening, Tina stood and began to tell a story about a donkey. Immediately, I was skeptical, but as I listened, the story wove around this poor donkey being placed into a deep cistern, one where others threw their trash.
Now, I do not remember why this poor donkey was placed into the hole—

• Maybe he stumbled into the hole while just going along in life.  &
• Maybe he was placed there for punishment.    &
• Maybe he was forced there due to the anger against him from a hostile society.  &
• Maybe the reason WHY the donkey was stuck deep down inside that hole is much as Joseph’s time inside the cistern hole (as revealed in the Old Testament). & Just….
• Maybe this donkey was down inside this hole because he was merely living his life, striving to be an obedient son and younger brother, and others angrily placed him into this deep hole.

WHY is truly not as critical to understand as HOW this donkey dealt with the hole.
Each day this donkey lived inside this hole, those who walked by tossed in their trash onto his back, day after day after day after day after…
The hole was deep, Tina informed us as we sat there in the sanctuary, listening to her weave the story in our minds.
Trash was thrown onto this donkey’s back.
The donkey had to look—way up—to see the top of the cistern, so far away.  If the cistern “prison” was not bad enough, then this daily deluge of trash thrown into the hole assaulted his nostrils with a horrible scent, just as the nastiness of the trash offended his body.

• This donkey knew WHO caused this horrendous torture.
• This donkey knew WHAT caused this horrible trouble.
• This donkey knew WHY those others had put him into this stinky pit.
• This donkey knew HOW he had become trapped inside this yucky hole.
• This donkey knew WHERE he now resided. & He knew he had to only look up—to see how far down he had become.
• This donkey also knew WHEN the trashy torture first began.
• THIS DONKEY—-MAY HAVE KNOWN ALL THE ANSWERS TO ALL THE QUESTIONS.
• THIS DONKEY—MAY EVEN HAVE KNOWN THIS DEEP HOLE COULD BE THE DEATH OF HIM.
• YES, THIS DONKEY REALIZED THE GRAVITY OF HIS PROBLEM. &
• THANKFULLY, THIS DONKEY KNEW THE TRUTH OF THE “ONLY” ONE WHO COULD SAVE HIM FROM THE “IT” HE ENDURED.

Thank goodness Tina did not stop there with her story that night.  Thank goodness she continued to the end, to the revelation of HOW the donkey survived (and even thrived) in this horribly long life-moment.
At this point in her story, Tina interjected a Bible passage, one from the New Testament, so I too will pause to share a Bible passage, but instead I want to share a single verse from the Old Testament. 
Jehoshaphat was a King, a man of authority, a ruler who knew the enormity of situations beyond his control and resources.  This king of Judah knew who he was, and he knew the King of Kings, the One he faithfully worshipped.
So King Jehoshaphat did what he knew to do, something that was a practiced habit, a beautiful blessing, and a faithful reminder of HOW the LORD cared for his every situation. 
King Jehoshaphat called out to God in prayer.

Our eyes are on You

Tina finished telling her story in a powerful way as she stood on the stage, facing the thirty-five youth.  She told them about the donkey, the hole, the situation, and the trash.  Then she told the youth about the Savior, about the Redeemer, and about the One, the Friend (Jesus) who cares about their every need.

Day after day, as the donkey stood there, trapped inside his deep hole, enduring the trash thrown onto his back, this donkey did a remarkable thing……….This donkey shook off the trash, stomped it down, looked up, and watched with his eyes, trusting God to be his Helper, his Sustainer, and his Savior.
Tina finished telling her story of the donkey that day, telling the youth how the donkey rose higher every day, telling how the day came when he stepped from the of huge trash pile and stepped out of the hole’s captivity.
And HOW did the donkey do this?

He did this by looking to God.
And he did this by not focusing on his troubles, his problems, his struggles, and the depth of his anguish.
And he did this by relying upon the only One who could keep him steady.
And he did this by not doing what he could do, “but [by keeping his] eyes [upon Jesus, His Savior] are on You” (12).
Whatever concerns us, concerns God.
Whatever struggles we endure, God is there (in our struggle) too.
Whatever pain we are forced to endure, Jesus has already endured for us, and knows the anguish we face.
Whatever challenges us today, God helps us rise above our THIS, our “IT” as God leads us to look up, to keep our eyes upon Him, our Sustainer, our Redeemer, our Savior, and Friend.

So in closing, if today provides you a moment to pause, then listen to this wonderful melody titled “You’ve Always Been” by the band Unspoken.  Below, I quote one lyric.

You’re my Savior, Sustainer, when I’m at my end/
My Healer, Redeemer again and again/
My mother, my father, my sister, my brother and friend/
Everything I’ve needed, LORD/
You’ve always been/
Thank You, Jesus/
You’ve always been.”

Jesus, help us keep–Our eyes on You.