Phil Wickham’s song ‘The Ascension’ looks at our journey towards God:
‘Let us start the ascension
Let’s begin the climb
Up this holy mountain
Where Your glory shines
Further up, further in
Just to be with You again.’ (‘The Ascension,’ Phil Wickham)
He goes on to give us clues as to how we make this journey:
‘We’re fixing our eyes on glory and fire
Your name is branded on our hearts
You are the source of all we desire
Nothing can hold us back;
We’re running to where You are.’ (‘The Ascension’, Phil Wickham)
All of us are on a journey towards God. Some of us may have just started the journey; some of us may be nearing the end of that journey. None of us really knows how close we are to seeing God face to face; none of us know what the future holds.
It’s easy to get bogged down during the journey, to focus on non-essentials, to major on minors. Today, God wants us to fix our eyes on glory and fire. He wants us to rest in Him as the source of all we desire. He wants us to ‘fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’ (2 Cor 4:18) He wants us to praise Him, to lift up our hands in the sanctuary and to bless the Maker of heaven and earth, and as we do that, there will be blessings poured out from heaven. ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.’ (Eph 1:3) It’s not all about future blessing; there are also blessings from God for today. James says ‘Come near to God and he will come near to you.’ (James 4:8) Come near. Praise God. Lift your hands. Let God satisfy you. Nothing else can.