The Ladder to Higher Ground

Psalms 61:2

Higher ground is a dissatisfaction with your present position, status or the way things are moving in your life and a desire to move up. It is a breakaway from the status quo. A desire to move away from the crowd and be outstanding. It is a change of status, fostered by a change of habit.

Such desire must, however, be backed by immediate positive action or it will become mere wishful thinking. Higher ground is never achieved by mere wishful thinking because a student who desires promotion must be prepared to burn the midnight candle. A farmer who desires a bumper harvest must be willing to clear large areas of land and sow a large amount of seed. Proverbs 6:6 – 8.

The ladder, with its rungs, which you will climb to higher ground is constructed by God. It is entrenched in principles that have been practiced and tested with proofs over the years. In His love and mercy, He desires the best for those who will comply with His guidelines. 1 Corinthians 2:9. God will not force you to climb the ladder, you must be willing to do so. God constructed the ladder of dreams for Joseph. Genesis 37:1–11. He achieved the rest through dedication, fear of God and discipline.

Knowledge:

Paul admonished Timothy; ‘Till I come give attention to reading, exhortation, to doctrine.’ 1 Timothy 4:13. Make deliberate effort to develop yourself. Nobody can take any knowledge you acquire from you. You need to be ‘hot’ in order to stand before kings. Proverbs 22:29. In the words of Rev. Albert Aina: ‘If you are not resourceful, you will become redundant.’ The more you learn, the better you become. John Mason said, ‘The cost of growth is less than the cost of stagnation.’ Recently, people looted shopping malls but the bookstores were untouched. I do not encourage looting.

Character:

Knowledge can raise you to the top of the ladder; character will determine how long you will stay there. Stealing and betrayal brought Judas Iscariot down. Greed was the undoing of Gehazi. Your character is the real you. You cannot hide it for long. It is either you are good or bad; there is no middle ground. Your life is either writing a letter that will take you to the top or one that will bring you down.

Service:

The best place where your talent and gifting can produce eternal and lasting result is in the house of God. Any material thing or award you are given on earth will remain here. Excellence to the point of winning laurels is commendable but divine recognition is more rewarding. Be available to serve at all times. Give God the best of your service in all things. The ladder for David’s promotion was constructed with the tools of service.

Company:

Proverbs 13:20. If you walk with those who are behind you, the likelihood of their drawing you back is there. Choose those who at par with you, they may likely think the same way with you and stagnate your life. When you walk with those who are ahead, they motivate, urge and drive you so that you can keep moving up. Vultures go for dead animals. Eagles go for the kill. Be ready to confront obstacles.

Giving:

Those who claim not to have may never have. You can determine to give yourself out of poverty into abundant wealth. That widow gave her mite for her name to be engraved in the Bible. The widow in 2 Kings 4 remained in the valley of lack until she obeyed the voice of Elisha to release even the little in her possession. Your lifting is in what you release and not what you hoard. If you realize that whatever you have has been given to you; you will willingly release it when the owner is demanding for a fraction of it.

Prayer:

All efforts mentioned above without God are wasted ventures. Prayer is the fertilizer you need to ensure all your efforts succeed. Prayer provides the enabling ground for all your desires to materialize. Philippians 4:6: ‘Don’t worry about anything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.’ (NLT). Pray before you commence a venture, pray while it is ongoing, pray when it succeeds and continue to pray to sustain the success because without God, you and I can do nothing. John 15: 5b.

Take advantage of this season and determine to leave where you are to where God desires you to be.