Beyond the Blues

Psalm 121:1 says, ”I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.”

As a child I loved that song, “I’ve got a home in glory land, way beyond the blues.” I imagine this is referring to heaven—way beyond the blue skies. This past week, I was in Walla Walla, Washington for my Aunt Jean’s funeral. In that area, “the Blues” is a short way to say, “the Blue Mountains.”

Talking with my cousin, Bruce, I was reminded of the time I hitch-hiked over the Blue Mountains from Weston to Elgin to visit my cousins. I think I was about 15 years old. Grandma drove me from Milton-Freewater to Weston and let me off on the road headed to Tollgate. Soon a man in a pickup gave me a ride to Tollgate. I then walked for about three hours on the mountain before I got another ride into Elgin.

I will never forget that walk. The trees were so tall and beautiful. I will never forget the visit with my cousins either. I have crossed the Blues other times in the winter when the roads were treacherous. Sometimes the road gets shut down for wind or snow or ice. When the wagon trains came out west the Blues were a challenge to get over. There was a new life beyond the Blues.

Let us look at another meaning for, “beyond the blues.” I am thinking about the blue mood we can get into when life closes in on us and there seems to be no hope. How can we get beyond the blues?

We can choose to lift up our eyes. We may be too weak to lift up our hands, sit up, stand up or even roll over. When we die, the last muscles to relax are the eyelids. We can always lift up our eyes if we want to. 

The question is, where do we want to look? Why look unto the hills? The hills are higher than we are. We must look upward. The upward look is the God-ward look. This look causes us to quit looking at ourselves. The God who made heaven and earth (Psalm 121:2) can help us stand. We might take a little look and find a little help. Then the sun goes down, the hills disappear, and night closes in on us. What then?

The hills are still there. God does not sleep at night. For God, night and darkness have no effect on His keeping power. We must trust Him. I love the song by Bill and Gloria Gaither, “Joy Comes in the Morning.” One line says, “The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.” Each new day our faith increases as we realize God is there. He sees us in the dark. He knows our hurt.

The hills are closer than the mountains. The psalmist uses the word “preserve” three times.

“The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil.” The devil is the evil one. He likes to attack us when we are down. He offers alcohol, drugs, and other things that only destroy us in the end. Choose to look away from these. Lift up your eyes to the hills, to God. 

“He shall preserve thy soul.” Jesus died to save your soul. He certainly is interested and able to preserve it.

“He shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in.” This is referring to going out to battle and returning. The fight is on every day. He is there to preserve us.

God is closer than you think. Reach out and touch Him. When you feel like “getting out of dodge,” lift up your eyes unto the hills. Remember, there are a lot of joys for you just ahead, Beyond the Blues!