I press on toward the goal to win the (supreme and heavenly) prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. Philippians 3v14 AMPC
My Hubby and I love walking in the mountains. Sometimes we stop and read the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) on our journey to the top. We stop to catch our breath, look out over Gods creation and read one of those Psalms.
In one of our latest mountain walks we listened to several renditions of the old hymn “Higher Ground”. There is so much great Bible teaching in many of the older hymns, were eternal truths are easily grasped when they are put to music.
Higher Ground is a prayer that all Christians should learn to sing and pray if they want to reach the high and upward call of being transformed into the image of Christ. It’s not a happy, clappy, feel good about yourself song, but a prayer of determination and grit and courage.
I always look forward to our walks, but sometimes when you’re at the foot of a mountain, looking up, I wonder if I’ll be able to make it to the top. That’s when some determination has to come in. It’s one step at a time, getting higher with each step. When we are born again, we can be so full of enthusiasm for the new life we’ve started, but as we begin to study our Bibles, we see how much of the old nature is still within us, it can be a daily struggle to overcome our unique besetting sin. Dying to self is never easy. It is a continual dying to each selfish thought and action. It’s like continuing to put one weary foot in front of the other when your tired muscles want to stop!
I’m pressing on the upward way, new heights I’m gaining every day;
Still praying as I onward bound, Lord plant my feet on higher ground.
When you’ve climbed one mountain and have experienced the exhilaration of reaching the top, you really can’t wait to do the next one. On a bright sunny day, with clear skies and a cool breeze there is nowhere I’d rather be. There is a silence and peace on the mountain top that you can never get in the valley. You forget the sore feet and aching muscles, and laugh at yourself for wanting to give up and turn back. Imagine missing this spectacular view and the satisfaction of getting to the top, just because you’re finding it takes a bit more effort that you’d thought you’d need. In the Christian life there are those very precious moments of being alone in His Present Presence. This usually comes at the end of some sort of trial or temptation that you’ve gone through. I look back at how I cried and protested that life was unfair, that God had abandoned me, that I was left to struggle in the darkness alone etc and can only marvel that I ever allowed those doubts and fears to accompany me! It is so worth the blood sweat and tears to be in the precious presence of the Saviour of my soul.
My heart has no desire to stay where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where these abound, my prayer, my aim is higher ground.
After scaling this latest mountain, we had a bit of a hairy walk along a narrow ridge, with steep drops on either side. If you fell to the left, you’d plunge 600 meters into the Atlantic Ocean, or if you fell to the right you tumble from rock to rock down into the valley. The only way to keep on going was to look right ahead and walk straight! In our Christian walk we have to do the same. We have to fix our eyes upon Jesus and all that he has promised us in His Word, and ignore the temptations to stray from the narrow way that leads to eternal life.
I want to live above the world. Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound, the song of saints on higher ground.
During our years of walking, we’ve climbed so many mountains, including the highest peaks of each of the six counties in Northern Ireland, many of them several times. We’ve also hiked through several mountains in the rest of the island of Ireland. We’ve done Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales, and Scafell, the highest peak in England. We have ambitions to one day hike up Ben Nevis in Scotland and then we will have done the highest peaks in every country of UK. It’s a bit addictive! God want us to be addicted to Him, to His Word, to His purposes that are for His glory and for our eternal happiness.
I want to scale the utmost height and catch a glimpse of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray till rest is found, Lord lead me on to higher ground.
Be encouraged today to keep walking onwards and upwards. We all get tired and discouraged. We all have seasons when we want to give into temptation. We all have times when we just want to give up and go back because it’s just too hard!
The Christian life is not a sprint; it’s a long slow walk uphill. There are plateaus every so often, where you can rest, admire the view so far, get some refreshment and refuel for the next stage of the journey, but there is always a higher level this side of eternity. One day we will reach the top and will gaze back in wonder at all God has enabled us to climb.
Lord lift me up and let me stand by faith on heaven’s tableland
A higher place than I have found, Lord plant me feet on higher ground.
