God has created us to live higher than we do. “For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44a NKJV).
You can live a life higher than you are right now. You may be backsliding, flatlining, or barely growing in your faith right now, but that can change the moment that you want to change. All things are possible with our faith when we rely upon our God, in whom all things are possible.
Nothing is impossible for God, and it is to that height we should pray to. “But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible’” (Mark 10:27 NKJV).
You can start to make better choices than you have before. You can be faced with an easy choice and the right choice and make the right choice no matter what it might cost you. The greatest thing you will learn is though it may cost you much, the eternal value it brings to your life is worth it.
Salvation is free, but sanctification will cost you everything. “I have been put up on the cross to die with Christ. I no longer live. Christ lives in me. The life I now live in this body, I live by putting my trust in the Son of God. He was the One Who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NLV).
When you stop striving on your power and start yielding to God’s power, it will be there your life will be changed forever. When you simply become weak before Him, then He will become strong in you, and you will be able to accomplish more because it is Him in you that will do it.
Some people spend a lifetime striving to become what God can do for them in a day. “Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man” (1 Samuel 10:6 NKJV).
You can be on good ground from which good fruit can come from your life. You can produce such wonderful fruit that is beneficial to those around you. As your life flourishes more, it will nourish more of everyone you meet. Your life can be God’s vessel to a dark and needy world.
The evidence of Christ in you is Christ through you. “I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing” (John 15:5 AMP).
When you surrender to God, then He will give you the victory in Christ that you only dreamed you could ever have. This is a victory in His ability, and so there will be nothing you can be prideful about in achieving it. You will only be grateful for His great mercy.
The secret of the victorious Christian life is that it is not yours to accomplish but to surrender to. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57 NKJV).
You can have a higher faith because it is God on high who can lift you there. It will be a life that is lowly and humble but at the same time is high and lifted before God. The lower you are willing to go, the higher the Lord is willing to lift you up.
To go higher in your faith, you must become lower in yourself. “Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you” (1 Peter 5:6 AMPC).
You can be as high in your faith as you want to be. You can be as near to God as you want to be. You can be as holy as you want to be. The only question is: are you willing to pay the price? It is a small price in heaven but an enormous price here on earth. The price is the right to yourself.
Once you give up the right to yourself, it is there that Christ can use you. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]’” (Matthew 16:24 AMP).
When you’re faced with choices here on earth, there are implications from the vantage point of heaven. You can go for high ground and please the Lord, or you can do as you please to serve yourself. One will be remembered for eternity, and the other will be buried deep into the earth.
Begin on good ground, then go for high ground. “But you are God’s chosen treasure—priests who are kings, a spiritual “nation” set apart as God’s devoted ones. He called you out of darkness to experience His marvelous light, and now He claims you as His very own. He did this so that you would broadcast His glorious wonders throughout the world” (1 Peter 2:9 TPT).
In everything you do, go for high ground. Ask God to help you. Let God help you. Choose to desire to live a life pleasing to the Lord. Put your choices before the Lord and ask Him to help you make them. When we ask with the right motives, He answers with the right directions.
You wouldn’t have to try so hard if you’d just pray for God to help you. “There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor” (Deuteronomy 33:26 NLT).
Blessings to you,
Paul Balius
Thank you so much brother Paul.
Your devotionals are always so deep and so insightful. They really challenge me to go all the way to fulfill God’s will and purpose for my life.
It is so true that many times we want to serve Him, but we serve ourselves first, or expect Him to change things miraculously without us denying ourselves, and really dying to ourselves and our plans, what is comfortable to us.
I thank the Lord for your life and ministry, your revelation of the Word is always a tremendous blessing to me.
Blessings
Marcela
Thank you so much, Marcela! Your words are such a blessing to me and you are sent from God to lift my spirit. I agree with you so much and it is my heart’s desire to live a faith as you have described. This is the remnant life. Blessings to you in your journey!