Come Up Higher!

Today, God reminded me of a dream I once had. I believe that dream is for THIS season.

In the dream, my daughter, her family and I were traveling to a certain destination. I assumed it was an adventure of sorts because we weren’t traveling on highways, instead we traveled the back roads. Although I didn’t know where we were headed, we were relaxed and enjoying the journey.

As we noticed the setting sun, we began to look for a place to stay for the night. Although the drive through the country was serene and beautiful, there were no readily available hotel or overnight accommodations.

Finally, we pulled onto an old gravel driveway, which led to a small country home. On the front porch sat an elderly lady.

As we all tumbled out of the vehicle and walked up to the porch, the sweet little lady was sitting in a rocking chair. She wore a short, striped apron. I could see her hands were busy, but I couldn’t see exactly what she was doing until we moved closer. As we neared, I sensed the peace that surrounded her. She had the most beautiful countenance I had ever seen, as if the presence of God, Himself, surrounded her. Directly in front of her was an opened Bible, sitting on a stand. In her lap was a large bowl filled with freshly picked green beans. As she glanced up and welcomed us, I could see she was breaking beans and preparing them for canning.

As I glanced around the porch, I noticed baskets of freshly picked vegetables all around her. This wouldn’t have been odd if it had been harvesting season, but it wasn’t. It was early in the year, before Spring—before the time of planting seeds. It was still months before harvest season would begin. Yet, there she sat with an abundant supply of harvest all around her. Twelve baskets full, to be exact.

As we walked up to her, she stopped breaking beans. She moved her Bible to the side, wiped her hands on her apron and smiled as she stood up to greet us.

She immediately welcomed us into her home. As we followed this wonderful little old lady into her kitchen, instead of stopping to offer us refreshment, she quickly headed up the stairs to the back of her home. We followed.

We discovered there were many more rooms upstairs than we first imagined. She led us to an area which to my surprise had obviously already been prepared for us. She turned to the right and swung open the door to a well-lit room. She smiled and said, “This is the Prophets room.” As I glanced into the room, I saw a bed, a desk, lamps, and there was even clothing hanging in the closet…anything one could possibly need was in that room. It was beautifully decorated, and the aroma of the room drew you in. Excited, I ran down the stairs to retrieve my bags from the vehicle.

I quickly grabbed my suitcases and ran back up the stairs. I arrived at the door of my room to find that something was drastically different, so much so, I stopped in my tracks. The door to the room was no longer a normal sized door. The door entrance was now less than two-feet wide. Stunned, I stood there looking at this narrow entrance realizing how difficult it would be to squeeze my body through this door. I would have to turn sideways to inch my way in. There was no way my baggage would fit through this narrow space. I stood at the top of the stairway, looking at this small entrance into the room. Suddenly a voice behind me said, “Narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it.” I woke up. I was back home in my own bed pondering this strange dream…

As I prayed and asked for insight, I discovered it was a call to come up higher.

The way of life winds upward for the wise. (Prov 15:24)

Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. (Is 60:1)

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. (Is 55:8-9)

After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” (Rev 4:1)

And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. (Rev 11:12)

In the book of Exodus, chapter 24, God said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord…”

Anytime God calls us, He calls us up. Always. One reason God calls us upward is to enter into His way of life – the Zoe life of God.

The Strong’s Concordance defines this word as; the state of one who is possessed of vitality, of the absolute fullness of life. To attain this life, we must go up in God.

In my dream, I had to go up to get to the place that was prepared for me. To me, this spoke of a time of promotion in God and a time of fruitfulness.

As I shared earlier, the elderly lady was sitting in her chair, breaking beans. This is something I do when we harvest our green beans, and I am getting them ready to can…in the summer.

However, in my dream, it wasn’t summer. It wasn’t even yet spring. It was not time for harvest at all, yet there she sat with harvest all around her.

I was immediately reminded of Revelation 22:2.

“In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

The harvest that surrounded the elderly lady spoke of the tree of life which bore fruit every single month of the year—twelve times a year. This was further emphasized by the twelve baskets of harvest that surrounded her.

I believe when we find that place in God—the place of LIFE—we will experience the tree of life which yields fruit continually, even out of season.

Remember Mark 11 where Jesus walked by a fig tree that was not producing fruit? As we know, He cursed the fig tree, and it died. The odd thing in this story is that it was not the season for fig trees to bear fruit – yet Jesus expected fruit to be available to Him. Why? Because He lived in this place of life (Zoe) in God. He EXPECTED everything within His realm to produce fruit for Him, regardless of the season.

I’m also reminded of Genesis 26, when God told Isaac to sow although there was famine in the land. In the natural, it was impossible to have a harvest with no rain. However, Isaac obeyed and sowed in that land. As a result, God caused him to reap a hundred-fold, even when it was impossible. What it reveals is that God will cause us to harvest even out of season…even when it seems impossible.

You may recall, in my dream, the lady kept the Bible before her while she harvested. Even while she prepared her harvest for the next season, the Word of God remained before her eyes.

The Word was her focus the entire time. Not the harvest, not the people arriving at her home, the Word of God was her priority.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Prov 3:6)

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63)

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matt 6:33)

If we are going to attain the life that God desires to give us, the Word of God must stay before our eyes and in our hearts. Proverbs 3:1 says the Word of God gives life. The life we all seek is found only in the Word of God. It must be a priority.

The way to life is before us. We are invited to enter in. God wants us to enter it. It is what He has prepared for us. However, there are things we cannot take with us.

In the dream, the door to that room was wide open to me until I went back to get my bags. We cannot look back and move forward at the same time. Remember Lot’s wife.

We cannot take last year’s baggage into this new, higher place in God. We cannot take our disappointments or our perceived unanswered prayers into this new place. There is no room for it. And we cannot look back…we must simply arise and go higher in God.

God has a place prepared for us. It is ready for us to walk into. The rest is up to us. We can leave our baggage at the door and enter in…or we can allow other things from the past to keep us out of the place God has for us.

If you recall, in my dream, a voice said to me, “narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it.” The narrow doorway in the room represented the way to life.

This scripture is found in Matthew 7:14; Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

God is the same today as yesterday. He does not change. Just as He said in Deuteronomy 30, “I have set before you, life and death, now…choose life.”

God is calling us to come up higher. Will you heed the call? Will you leave your baggage behind and lay aside the fears, hurts and disappointments of the past? Will you step through the narrow place and embrace the abundant life God has for you? It is prepared and ready, enter in.