If I were to ask you what living upward means, would you be able to tell me? Does it mean always looking up? Does it mean I live my life better than others, therefore making me better than another? Does that mean that I am always feeling “up”? Or, if I do live this way, I won’t have problems? Hummm…
My heart really resonated with this thought last week as my pastor shared this. It rang its bell of personal meaning in me. So, as I thought about this concept of living upward and pulling another up, I felt for me, it is about living my life in such a way that I am looking upward in expectation of what God is doing in me, and my life, each day. I am seeking to live forward, towards what God has for me to do, so that, I can pull another up. I’m equipping myself.
“Do what thou dost as if the stake were heaven, and this thy last deed ere the judgment day.” ~Orison Marden
It is kind of like, what we have yet NOT attained, keeps calling us upward. We know there is more that God wants us to learn and do. We need to keep our focus upward. However, it is not something we can attain on our own. It is something that we have to do with God. In our own power, we could not continue, but God gives us the desire and the power, to attain that which would be overwhelming otherwise.
I have been leading a study on being mindful of Gratitude and the Gifts we are given…thousands of them. If I truly and intentionally live this way, I believe I am living upward. I am living in expectation of what God CAN and WILL do in my life, my family’s life, my church, and my friend’s lives. He will never fail us, and never leave us, no matter how hard it gets. It may be even more important that we lean in close in those difficult times, so we CAN hear Him give us His reassurance. Living upward is that pull to the next thing God wants to do in me, and doing it with an attitude of excitement! As a friend said last night to me on the phone, “JoAnn, my expectations of God have been WAY too low!” He wants to show us His power and glory!
So this week, live upward! Look for how you can do that, and pull another up. Be intentional about it. Love as if you might not have a tomorrow. Some won’t. See where He takes you. It reminds me of a picture of a little child who holds their arms up to be picked up. They have that look on their face that you can’t resist. They expect to be picked up, want to be held, and/or comforted. But they know the non-verbal language. Hold my arms up, someone picks me up. Can you picture yourself in that position with God? That is a great visual for me. I hope it is for you. Hold those arms up!
Thanks again for your faithful readership! Please share what the phrase “living upward” may mean to you. It may be a road you never dreamed of traveling, but God equips you for the journey.
Walking the journey with you…
~JoAnn
journeysofmyheart.com 