🏔️ Don’t Come Down
The safest place isn’t found by climbing higher—but by staying where Christ has already placed you.
Devotional Credit: Open Windows: The Mountains Around Jerusalem by T. Austin-Sparks
Photo Credit: Unsplash
T. Austin-Sparks invites us to look through a simple but striking window: Jesus Christ is far superior to all else. In this short passage, he meditates on Psalm 125, where those who trust in the Lord are compared to Mount Zion—immovable, unshakable, and surrounded by God's protective presence. The imagery is not just poetic; it's deeply instructive.
Ancient Israel understood the value of elevation. Their cities were built on high ground, not just for the view, but for defense. Enemies with chariots and horses struggled in the mountains. The high places offered safety. It’s a picture of spiritual reality. Sparks urges us to see that our strength comes from remaining in the “high places” with Christ—abiding in the heavenly realm where we have already been seated with Him.
The enemy, by contrast, thrives on the plains—on the natural level, on worldly logic, on emotional reaction, on striving and distraction. His strategy is simple: pull us down. If he can get us operating on his terms, we lose sight of the superior life we have in Christ. Sparks reminds us that the church, too often, has been coaxed down to the level of earthly concerns, opinions, and divisions—and in doing so, its power is lost.
But the high ground is not far off. It is not a mountain to climb; it is a place to abide. Our strength is not in our elevation but in our position: in Christ, in the heavenlies, in union with the One who cannot be shaken. Like Nehemiah, we don’t need to argue or descend. We simply remain. We stay in Him. And we go on doing a great work—the quiet, holy work of abiding.
📓 Personalized Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit
You are not meant to walk through life tossed and jostled by the ground-level noise. I have already lifted you higher. I have seated you with Christ in the heavenlies and placed My Spirit within you as your anchoring presence. Do not measure your strength by your surroundings. Measure it by your union with Me.
The enemy will invite you to come down—to reason, to react, to contend, to control. But your victory is not found in engaging him on his level. It is found in resting where I have placed you: hidden with Christ in Me, surrounded by My presence like the mountains around Jerusalem.
You may not always feel unshakable, but your position is secure. You may not always see the battle, but I have already surrounded you with Myself. Stay where I’ve placed you. Refuse to descend. Let Me be your shield, your steadiness, your elevation. From here, you will see clearly. From here, you will endure. From here, you will reflect Christ—not by striving, but by abiding.
Scripture References: Psalm 125:1–2; Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1–3; Romans 8:37–39; 2 Corinthians 10:3–5; Nehemiah 6:3; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:4–11
🧠Real-Life Analogy
It’s like being in a quiet room above a busy street. The noise below is real—cars honking, people shouting—but up where you are, it doesn’t dictate your peace. You can observe without being drawn in. The windows insulate you, not by removing the world, but by lifting you above its reach.
When someone interrupts your peace with criticism, or when distractions clamor for your attention, you don’t need to engage from the ground level. As you yield to Christ within, you can rest in your position. Whether responding to conflict at work, making a decision about a family matter, or facing anxiety in the news cycle, your stance is: “Lord, I trust You to think, speak, and move through me from the high place where You and I dwell together.” You don’t come down. You abide.
🙏 Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that I am not trying to climb to safety—I’ve already been raised with Christ and hidden in You. I rest today in the high place of Your presence. I do not need to come down to defend, explain, or control. You are my shield and my steadiness. I rejoice that in Christ, I cannot be shaken, and I choose now to abide in that unshakable grace.