Higher Ground is Real > What is the meaning of life? Well, one way I like to think of it is, “Higher Ground”. You see, I don’t believe life has any real meaning without God. If there is no eternity, no potential reward, if there is only a death into nothingness and no memory of ever existing, then how can there be any meaning to what we are living? How does it matter what we do? No one will even remember. We all end up in nothingness. 0 =0! Whether you did good, or evil, you still end up at zero. No purpose. No meaning. As if you never existed.

But if there is a God, reward, and eternity? Now we have meaning and purpose. And higher ground is all about getting closer to God! Our becoming a stronger person in our spirit, in His Spirit, and not our flesh which weakens and dies. Higher ground is more Spirit and less flesh. Higher ground is knowing Him. And everything we do will reap a harvest, whether good or bad.

If you are a worldly person, when I speak of higher ground, you most likely think of being more successful in whatever your earthly pursuits are. It might be having more money, a mansion for a house, more power over people, whatever your fleshly desires might be. But the follower of Christ seeks to crucify those desires of the flesh to climb higher on a spiritual mountain, closer to God and lover of his soul. I’m here to tell you, this higher ground is real! The world may laugh at us and scoff for now, but they will be proven the fools in the end. They will discover what is on the “other side” is anything but nothingness.

Song of Songs speaks of hind’s feet and the Mountains of Spices. It is a real place. It exists in the invisible realms of the spirit, but your soul knows right well it is a real place, and hungers for it, if only your soul could get your attention. This is why you are never satisfied. When we deny our soul and feed our flesh, we tell ourself in all our earthly wisdom, God is not real and neither are His so-called high places. And yet, we continue craving something more. And we never can seem to quite put our finger on it. We always hunger.

Fellow Christians, followers of Christ, seekers of His Spirit, disciples of the Way, let it be known that the flood gates of sin will be opened, and those not seeking higher ground will be swept away in its dark currents. The Bible predicts a great falling away, a sweeping away, in the last days. Those flood gates have already begun opening, and the Catholic church now stands at a fork in the road as whether to raise up a standard against that tide, or open the gates even more! The last Pope began the opening. What shall the next Pope do? We watch. We shall see.

But whatever the case, for those of us in love with the high places, nothing changes. We are not shaken. We are not disturbed. The flood waters do not reach us. We are rock solid in the high places of Christ. We have eagle wings to mount up. God gives us the spiritual feet of the deer to leap upon the mountains of our high places. It is very supernatural. Yes, the supernatural is real.

In the following scriptures we see a time when God Himself will judge this earth. There will be much fear and devastation. We know the last days will be such a time, but those living in the high places of Christ will have little to fear. This is Habakkuk 3: 14-19, from the Amplified version. >

“You pierced with his own arrows the head of (the enemy’s) hordes; they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me (the people), rejoicing as if to devour the poor (Israel,) secretly.” (Personal note: keep in mind, we too, have become children of Israel in Christ.)

“You have trodden the sea with Your horses, (beside) the heap of great and surging waters. I heard, and my (whole inner self) trembled, my lips quivered at the sound. Rottenness enters into my bones and under me — down to my feet — I tremble. I will wait quietly for the day of trouble and distress, when there shall come up against (my) people him who is about to invade and oppress them.”

“Though the fig tree does not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines; (though) the product of the olive fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls; Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will exult in the (victorious) God of my salvation!”

“The Lord God is my strength, my personal bravery and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hind’s feet, and will make me to walk (not to stand still in terror, but to walk) and make (spiritual) progress upon my high places (of trouble, suffering or responsibility)!”

Higher ground is real, but they are supernaturally attained. This is the work of God in His people as they seek the Way. Jesus IS the Way, the Truth, and the Life! God will give us spiritual feet as the deer, and wings as the eagle, to mount up into the high places of His Spirit. We leap upon the Mountains of Spices, as Song of Songs declares! But it is here I want to speak a word about the difference between “devotion” and “discipline”.

I keep saying it, the Gospel message is a romance. God is love. God loves His people. We fall in love with God, our Creator and lover of our soul, and our disciplines are born out of our devotion, not so much human will power as a slave. Our disciplines are motivated by our love, not our mental fortitude. Even as Paul wrote in in 1st Corinthians 13, even if I give my body to be burned at a stake, and it is not motivated from love, I have gained nothing! Yikes! Not the way we normally think!

The definition of “devotion” is: > love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity or cause.

Definition of “discipline”: > the practice of training people to obey rules. Having self-control and the ability to follow through with actions, even when it is difficult or not immediately rewarding, in order to have long term goals.

Discipline is important in our walk with Christ, but God’s Word says self-control is a fruit of His Spirit. When I fell in love with my wife, I was motivated by love to devote myself to her, and no other woman. As we had children and raised a family, there are many sacrifices we have made to maintain our relationship, and the family that grew out of our love. Love has always been the motivation behind the hard things we needed to do to live up to our vow of marriage. Love always showed me what was the right thing to do, and then I exercised love and discipline to do it.

The high places we speak of are the high places known by the “Bride” of the Lamb. We have come to see His beauty and fallen in love. Once, we did not see His beauty. Once, we saw only weakness, a person despised and stricken of man. Once, we thought His ways too undesirable, full of self-sacrifice, and loss. But God has changed us. Now we understand. Our eyes have been opened! We see His beauty and we desire those same high places He is calling us to.

The flood gates will open even more, and the enemy will come in as a flood, sweeping those living in low places away. A word of warning: If God has pulled back from you and you do not miss Him? You are in great spiritual danger! You are living in the low lands and will be swept away! Come back to the Father’s house! Come back to your first love! Climb back into the high places before it is too late! They are real! You will be safe there!

The hand writing is on the wall for all to see. We do not know how long this spiritual “pause” will last, this window of opportunity. We watch changes happening in the powers that be. But the stage is also being set for those flood gates to be fully opened as soon as He who now withholds is taken away.

There is much hidden under the woman, in the message of the Bride, in the Song of Songs with the Shulamite lady. God’s power is with His Bride. We may feel too weak to climb, but God will help His Bride climb. He will be her strong right arm pulling her upward! Not in her own strength, but in His. When I am weak, then am I strong. Live in the 7th Day of His rest. Let God do the heavy lifting while we focus on being beautiful in His sight. He searches the hearts of the people. Let those who have ears to hear, hear. And those who have eyes to see, see. And let us mount up! Let us soar more, and flap less! Amen.