Have you heard of a syndrome called Text Neck? It’s a real thing. If we’re being honest, though, it’s not exactly a surprising thing. Chances are, you’ve already guessed what “Text Neck” syndrome is.

Here’s how one website breaks it down: “Text neck (or tech neck) is a syndrome that happens after a repeated amount of stress occurs in our neck area due to having our heads in a down-forward position.”

That’s a polite way of saying, too much scrolling is literally becoming a pain in the neck.

One doctor shares, “For every 15 degrees you flex your neck forward from a neutral position, the load on your neck muscles nearly doubles in weight.”

In other words, if you’re looking down at your device at a certain angle, it can put about 60 pounds of force on your neck. That’s like wearing a few pumpkins around your neck as your must-have Fall accessory. That’s what looking down at our phones is doing to us. We have morphed into glorified slaves who may not carry bricks on our backs, but carry a ton of weight on our shoulders.

But it’s not just about looking down at our devices. Most of us are also constantly directing our gaze to our circumstances. Our minds are entangled and entrapped in never-ending worries. Our thoughts are caught in a desperate spiral of anxiety. Like onlookers at the scene of an accident, our vision is drawn toward the distressing circumstances of our lives. Our downward focus puts an imperceptible but immense weight on our backs—way more than 60 pounds.

In the Psalms, we see David lament over unfair and desperate situations in his life. In Psalm 6:3, he cries out, “My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?”

His words strike a chord. We too have our, “how longs?!”

How long do I endure this illness?

How long do I put up with my boss?

How long do I deal with my depression?

How long do I hope my spouse will show me love?

How long do I wait for us to get pregnant?

How long do I pray for my adult child to come back to faith?

How long, Lord, how long?

But here’s what David does in this Psalm. He holds his pain and God’s power together. He is real about his anguish—but he also remembers God’s character.

Friend, sometimes, we have “text neck” from looking solely at our circumstances. We are weighed down by financial stress, broken relationships, doctors’ reports, and uncertainty about the future. Our gaze is unwaveringly downward.

But God invites us to look up to Him and look up at Him.

We can go from praying, “How long?” (Psalm 6:3) to proclaiming, “The Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; The Lord accepts my prayer.” (Psalm 6:8-9). From asking, “How long?” we learn for our longings to be met in Christ.

Can I invite you to shift your gaze from your situation to your Savior? Cry out to God in your pain, but also confess the character of God over your circumstances. Lament and lift up your gaze.

As you raise your eyes up, you will notice something startlingly beautiful: you will see the Lord looking back at you.

When our heads are down, when we are muddled in the muck, we may not notice that the Lord sees. But the King of Kings says you are the apple of His eye.

Psalm 138 points out that, “Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly.”

Here’s the thing: God watches over you. He sees you. It’s only when we turn our eyes upon Jesus, can we notice that He is looking intently and lovingly at us.

May we turn our gaze to our glorious God who sees, who knows, and who understands. May we be real about the “how long?” but may we also remember how good He is.

 

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