Turn my eyes away from...

“Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things, and give me life in Your way.” Psalm 119:37

These are two short phrases, but they show a deep awareness.

This verse is a very simple prayer, but it says a lot. The psalmist knows that some things can weaken his fellowship with God. That is already a great lesson for us: we need God’s grace, even in what we choose to look at.

“Turn my eyes away...”
Problems often begin with the things our eyes see and stay fixed on.
What we look at feeds our thoughts, then our heart, and finally influences our choices.

The psalmist humbly admits his weakness. He knows he can be attracted, distracted, or led astray. He understands that he is not strong enough on his own. So he prays: “Lord, guide my eyes in the right direction.”

There is a beautiful humility here. A mature believer is not someone who thinks they are safe from every danger, but someone who knows they need God’s help.

“...from looking at worthless things”
“Worthless things” are all the traps the world puts before us, things that fill our mind and heart without really feeding our soul. They are not always openly sinful things. Very often, they are simply empty, temporary, and misleading.

Proverbs 12:11 reminds us of this:
“...he who follows worthless things lacks wisdom.”

These can be:

• suggestive pictures,
• distractions that take too much of our time,
• earthly and selfish ambitions,
• useless curiosities,
• in short, anything that pulls us away from God.

A “worthless” thing may seem attractive and promising, but in the end it gives nothing solid or lasting.

The world is never short of things to catch our eyes. But not everything that attracts us builds us up. Not everything that entertains us gives true life.

But the psalmist cries out: “Give me life...”
This should also be the cry of our heart. More than ever, we need the life that comes from God, and nothing else. This is true life, as God wants it for us.

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman:
“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14

This shows us that we cannot overcome emptiness by willpower alone. We need God to give us a life that is deeper, stronger, and more real.

When God revives the heart, worthless things lose their power. The Word of God becomes precious again. We begin to desire fellowship with Him, and our soul becomes strong again.

“...in Your way”
True life is not found in the easy path of our feelings or the ways of the world, but in the Lord’s path.

The world says:
“Look, take, enjoy, follow your feelings.”
But God says:
“Walk with Me, and you will live.”

It is not enough to close our eyes to certain things. We must also open them to God, to His truth, and to His will.

This verse can lead us to ask ourselves a few questions:

•  What are the “worthless things” that catch my attention today ?
•  What fills my thoughts without feeding my soul?
•  What distracts me from God’s presence?

Psalm 37:5 says:
“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.”

To sum up, this verse teaches us that only God can turn our hearts away from empty things and lead us into a life that has true and eternal value.

Let us ask the Lord to give us a humble heart, ready to recognize its weakness and to seek His guidance every day.

Franz