Recently in an office meeting icebreaker, we were asked what our favorite old hymn is. I shared that since I was about 4 years old my favorite has been “Higher Ground,” but I wasn’t sure why. That was the song I always wanted my mom to request during hymn sings, though I was too shy to request it myself.
As I’ve thought about it since then, I have a few ideas why it
appeals to me. One influence is that I’ve always liked heights. I’ve been told that
I would climb up on the back of the couch before I could even walk much. I
enjoyed riding on my dad’s shoulders when I was little. I’ve spent many hours
in trees (though not so much in recent years), and now after I clean out my
gutters I like to hang out on the roof for a while. I would far rather spend my
vacation hiking in the mountains than anywhere else. A favorite memory from
college was visiting the Alps on two occasions. So even before I had much
understanding of faith and theology, I liked the idea of being lifted up to a
higher plane.
These days I resonate with the thought of life’s journey going
through hills and mountains, and I want to find myself maturing and gaining
ground over time. “My heart has no desire to stay where doubts arise and fears
dismay,” though I know that is a normal part of this life. There is great comfort
in knowing that the trials of life will one day come to an end. There’s also
great assurance in remembering that God is the One who leads us on through the
whole way. As David wrote in Psalm 37:23-24, “The steps of a man are
established by the Lord, and He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not
be hurled down, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand” (NASB). And God
will complete the work He has begun in us (Phil. 1:6).
Though I don’t know for sure, I suspect the author, Johnson
Oatman, was inspired in part by Psalm 121:
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber… The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore” (vv. 1-3, 8).
We look up to the massive mountains
and remember that the One who created them is not only more powerful, but He is
intimately involved in our lives every day. Nothing escapes His notice or care.
I’m reminded also of the end
of the Chronicles of Narnia where they enter the new Narnia and learn,
“‘The further up and the further in you go, the bigger everything gets. The inside is larger than the outside’… But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before” (The Last Battle, 180, 184).
One day we’ll get to enjoy that new reality in the presence
of our Creator, Lord, and Savior. Until then we follow the path laid out for us
by our Shepherd and Friend. I had to pause while writing this in order to watch
the livestreamed funeral of a young woman who’d battled cancer for many years. Her
life was a testimony of pressing on in faith, and through her funeral “faith has
caught the joyful sound, the song of saints on higher ground.”
“Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what
lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God
in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13b-14).
© 2025 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
