Job 35:5
"Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou."
Looking the wrong direction can certainly get you lost. Years ago a friend of mine and I were hiking in the woods when we got disoriented with our location. Instead of staying on the trails and following them back to the right path, we decided to blaze our own trail back to his house only to stay lost for the next two hours. It wasn't until we decided to get on a trail and follow it that we got back to where we were supposed to be. It all came down to where we were looking.
One of the first things that Elihu did to get Job spiritually back on track was to get him to look the right way. He said, "Look unto the heaven, and see..." Elihu understood that Job was looking more at himself than he was at God. That is why Job fell into self-pity. That is why Job began to think of himself better than he should. He had a wrong perspective because he looked at himself instead of the God Whom he should have kept his eyes upon. When Job finally looked unto the Heavens and saw God he said, "Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:6)
If you are going to help people get their lives back on track, then you must get them to look unto the heavens. The whole reason you and I get ourselves into a mess is because we get our eyes off God and place them on ourselves. Looking unto the heavens helps you in three ways.
First, looking unto the heavens will help you get a proper measurement of righteousness. Verse 2 makes it very clear that Job was measuring righteousness by his deeds and not by God. Many people have a false perception of righteousness because they are measuring it by their conscience or culture. The only way you can truly measure righteousness is by God, for He is righteous. When you start looking unto the heavens, you will see how to live a righteous life.
Second, looking unto the heavens will help you get a proper perspective of yourself. When you see God's righteousness, then you will see what you really are. You will realize that you don't really have the power to do what you say you can do. You will realize that you are not as good as you thought you were, and you will easily see how good God really is. When you look unto the heavens, you will realize how small you are and how big God is.
Third, looking unto the heavens will give you a dose or reality. When you get around people who are self-centered, you quickly realize how much they are out of touch. When you look at God and see Him, you quickly realize how much you need Him. Until you do that, you will live in a fantasy world where you think you can do everything yourself. Looking unto the heavens has a way of bringing you back to reality and causes you to see your need of God.
Have you gotten your eyes off the heavens? Do you find yourself at times feeling sorry for yourself or being self-confident in what you can do? Let me encourage you to keep your eyes on God. This is what will keep you humble in the sight of God, and it will ensure that you are seeing yourself and the world the way God wants you to see it.