Going Higher

Going Higher


Reflections by the Sea © Betsy Ore Glass
April 26, 2011

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. -Isaiah 55:9 NIV

I shall never forget the day I went up in a hot air balloon. It was magical, serene and quiet. Yes, quiet! I thought we would hear the gusts and roar of the strong winds that were moving us along but we did not. And to my surprise, the birds don’t fly that high either. So it was as though we could hear a pin drop. It felt like we were climbing towards heaven going higher and higher. We could see cars driving along the highways below, many homes, shopping centers, lots of landscape and the ocean. But it was as though the mute button was on. To be high up could be a lonely place I realized, but also a place of great peace.

What does it mean to go higher? The Lord said His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. But He picks us up and lovingly encourages us to take steps toward purity and righteousness if we are willing. Everyday some of us step up on ladders, drive across tall bridges, visits monuments and climb to the top of sand dunes. But to walk in God’s ways, to go higher is to spiritually live as close to Him as we can. To be in a constant relationship with Him. That’s how we can be taught by making time to listen and learn. Emotionally to go higher means to not get caught up in strife and to deflect negativity that comes at us by living above all the arguments, disagreements and colliding opinions in our everyday life. Physically to go higher means to possess divine wisdom to know when to speak and when not to speak. In other words, to pick and choose ones’ battles and certainly not get involved in conflicts that don’t involve us. If we find ourselves getting caught up or side-tracked in the unimportant minutiae of life, wallowing in judgment of others, we will sink in negativity and we will attract more of it to us like a magnet. We have to be willing to go higher in our thoughts and attitudes so that our emotions don’t pull us back down. God calls us to go higher with Him. Like a hot air balloon, it is a great mental picture of where we should hope to be…high up where the air is clear, quiet and peaceful.