[00:00:00] Welcome to Faith in Focus from The Book of Mysteries by Jonathan Cahn, The Great Ascending. The teacher had given me a day's notice to prepare. We were to go hiking. I was to pack food and other necessities and get to bed early, as it would take the entire day. We left before dawn. Our hiking took us on a mostly level path surrounded by low-lying hills on
[00:00:27] both the right and the left. Because of the hills, for most of the journey, our view of the surrounding landscape was limited. We talked for hours, stopped several times for breaks. By late afternoon, the hills began to recede. Finally, we came to a ledge from which we caught our first glimpse of the wider landscape. What I saw then stunned me, not just because
[00:00:54] of the view, which was breathtaking, but what it revealed about the journey we had just taken. We were standing at the edge of what I now realize to be one of the highest mountains I had ever ascended during my days in the desert. Look over there, he said. That's where we came from. I had no idea, I said. The path seemed so level. It seemed level in the short run, but in the
[00:01:20] long run, over time, it was a colossal ascent. And how did we get here? We just walked, and continued to walk, and kept walking. You see, he said, over the long run, continuance, consistency, and perseverance overcome everything else. And the small upward steps taken every day will end up lifting you to the heights. God has called you not only to love, but to keep loving. Not
[00:01:50] only to believe, but to press on in believing. Not only to do right, but to keep on in doing it. When you do that, then the power of your love, your faith, and your righteousness will be multiplied. Our journey has revealed something else as well. Don't ever judge your life or what God is doing in your life by how it appears in the moment on the journey. You'll rarely
[00:02:17] see it. But when you get to a vantage point like this one, and look back at your journey, at the big picture, at the long run, it is then that you will see it, the miracle of what God has done in your life. Remember this day, and this journey. It is the journey of your life in God. Walk this good road, and no matter what, keep walking it. Never give up, but keep
[00:02:46] going, and you will end up standing on heights you never dreamed you could have attained, and looking back at the miracle of a journey you never realized you were on. The mission. Take time today to look back at the big picture. See how far God has taken you. Press on in your journey step by step to the heights. Psalm 1836. You broaden the path beneath me, so that
[00:03:13] my ankles do not give way. Psalms 84 5-7. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs. Even the autumn rain covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength, until each appears
[00:03:37] before God in Zion. Psalm 122. In the Berean Standard Bible, BSB, is a song of ascent attributed to David, celebrating Jerusalem as a center of worship, justice, and community. The psalm opens with joy upon entering the house of the Lord, and describes the city's unity, and its role as a gathering place
[00:04:02] for the tribes of Israel. It concludes with a well-known call to prayer for the peace and security of Jerusalem, for the sake of family, friends, and the house of God. Please read it. Isaiah 2. 1-2. This is the message that was revealed to Isaiah, son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the
[00:04:29] chief of the mountains, and it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Philippians 3.13-14. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal
[00:04:52] to win the prize of God's heavenly calling in Christ Jesus. Higher ground. Thank you for joining me on Faith in Focus. Remember, these insights are inspired by Jonathan Cahn' The Book of Mysteries. Until next time, may you find strength in the revelation of his love.