If a fly ball is hit into the air, you might hear the words, “Heads up!” to warn you. If a friend or coworker wants to inform you of something so you don’t make a fool of yourself, he or she says, “Hey, just a heads-up.” In Psalm 24:7, the psalmist David gives us both a heads-up of information and of warning: “Lift up your heads, you gates.”

The context of this psalm is the celebration of the ark of the covenant (a symbol of God’s presence with his Old Testament people) and its display and then resting place in the pre-temple (tabernacle). David’s point from verse 1 of the psalm is to say, “Heads up! Don’t get caught up in all the pomp and circumstance and forget where and who we should be looking to.”

Fast-forward to an application for our lives. We have our to-do lists . . . some legitimate and some may even be for religious purposes, but do we have a heads-up to why we’re doing them? Or do we get caught up in the pomp of what we’re doing? David directs his readers to have a heads-up to the coming King. He isn’t referring to himself but to the King of kings, Jesus. 

As you go about your weeks, months, and years, keep the words of David on your mind: “Heads up!” Look to the Word and to the skies for your King to return.