No More Stairs

Lately I have been seeing so many references to going “higher in Jesus” or some similar sentiment and it has stuck in my brain so I began to pray. As I asked God why this was standing out to me He began to show me how many thought patterns we can have that are geared around this perspective. It’s as if we see our faith walk as a flight of stairs where we have to keep climbing.

However, as I see it, there are a few problems with this perspective. One, climbing stairs makes us tired because we are expending so much physical effort, regardless of your fitness level if you climb enough stairs you will be tired.

Secondly, raising our elevation serves only to skew our perspective and the altitude can give us nose bleeds. We are not meant to live on an ever increasing altitude. We are meant to press forward and establish His kingdom.

Lastly, approaching faith in this viewpoint only serves to keep us in a never ending cycle of climbing much like on an escalator. We will never feel anything but condemnation for not having “arrived”.

So why do I think each of these are a hindrance to growing in faith? It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. God created the garden as a place of relationship. He didn’t expect Adam and Eve to expend energy to reach Him but rather He created a space where He came and reached out to them. He made a place of rest and relationship not an endless series of stairs. Even when God had Adam name all the creatures He drew them to Adam, Adam didn’t have to go on a massive trek to seek each one out.

“Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Somehow we have believed a lie from the enemy that we have to earn our way to God. It’s as if we accept the gift of salvation but then spend our life trying to earn faith. Yes we need to grow our faith in Jesus but it is done by spending time with Him. When Jesus called Nathaniel a true Israelite it wasn’t because of some great righteousness or action it was because he regularly sat under a fig tree to talk to God.

Let’s stop climbing stairs and sit in His presence!