Still Upward

Still upward be thine onward course:
For this I pray today;
Still upward as the years go by,
And seasons pass away.
Still upward in this coming year,
Thy path is all untried;
Still upward may'st thou journey on,
Close by thy Saviors side.
Still upward e'en though sorrow come,
And trials crush thine heart;
Still upward may they draw thy soul,
With Christ to walk apart.
Still upward till the day shall break,
And shadows all have flown;
Still upward till in Heaven you wake,
And stand before the throne.

-Spurgeon

God always amazes me when His word speaks to the EXACT situations we are in.
The last few months have been somewhat of a dry season for me in regards to my devotions. With the busyness of school, ministry and work, it all got a little over my head leaving me with little and sometimes no time to sit before the Lord and leaving me with mostly anxieties and headaches. But the Lord hears, and just as someone mentioned the other night, 'the things we want are important to Him.' And all i have been desiring is 'get back on track' with my Savior.

Im a pretty anal person when it comes to reading my devotions. i have to have a journal entry, read accordingly, and if i miss even a day, my head goes bananas. But the Lord graciously reminded me today that:

1.  Even when my devotional life gets dry "Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert." Isaiah 35:6
That may mean a verse a day for some of us or a whole chapter for others.


2. No matter where i'm at the Lord graciously receives me with open arms to continue moving upward. He doesn't say 'well you missed this day so you have to start all the way at the bottom.'

and

3. He doesn't want me to stay content with my best but His best. Ezekiel 41:7 says "The side rooms all around the temple were wider at each successive level. The structure surrounding the temple was built in ascending stages, so that the rooms widened as one went upward. A stairway went up from the lowest floor to the top floor through the middle floor." Too often we are content with being in the coal mines, satisfied with our 'meager accomplishments' because we're too afraid to climb mountains. But "we don't know what is lost by our self-indulgence, what glory awaits if we only have the courage to climb, or what blessings we will find if we will only ascend the mountain of God." (J.R.M)

They say that its easy to fall out of things an hardER to jump back in to them but praise the Lord for He graciously gives us many opportunities to move 'still upward.'

Devos for me often include multiple Bibles translations, highlighters, and journaling.