“And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there.”
– Genesis 11:31
After the God of glory called Abram to “Get out!” from Ur of the Chaldeans, the family of four—Terah, Abram, Sarai, and Lot—set out towards the land of Canaan, but ended up settling in Haran, a city northwest of Ur. The first leg of Abram’s journey was going from a “fiery valley,” Ur, to a “mountainous region,” Haran. It must have been difficult steadily climbing the mountains, but through the journey, Abram was brought from a low place where his sight was limited to an elevated one where he could have a broader and clearer view. In the same way that Abram’s life became different as he journeyed, we also may look to his example for significance on how we follow the Lord.
The first stage of following the Lord is called elevation. It’s very interesting. Do you want to follow the Lord? As you follow Christ, you may know the Bible. You may know verses. You may know hymns and how to enjoy spiritual songs. You may know how to give messages or be a pastor. You can do very well and be a good brother or sister, but are you elevated? Elevation means what? “I see something higher. I see something more heavenly. I see something not as before. Before, my judgment was simple. It was low. It was basic. Now I am elevated; I can walk with God and look at things according to God.”
When you are saved, when you begin to follow the Lord, the first thing the Lord is doing is elevating you to get you out of Ur. He wants you to become higher, to see things more spiritually and more heavenly. To see things according to Christ, and to make decisions in your life according to what God desires. The first step of God’s calling is simple: please be elevated. Don’t live like other people live. If they are for career and you are for career, if they are for success and you are for success, and if they are for riches and you are for riches, then you are still in Ur. You have to say, praise the Lord! I am elevated. I am coming out of all of this.
The problem is that we like Ur. We are doing fine. We are common. We go to meetings, offer prayers, share, minister, say some things. But no! You need to be elevated! You need to come from one level to another level. Then from the second to the third level. Unless you are very high, you can never produce what the Lord wants. Don’t just say, “We have a good meeting, hallelujah!” You need to be elevated until your view is different, your consideration of life is different, and your view of the Lord’s testimony is different. Until your view of a brother’s future is different, and your view of spreading God’s testimony is different! To boldly declare that we are one with the Lord!
Elevation is the most crucial but also hardest thing in your life. You can faithfully serve for years but not be elevated. You can live a life in Ur and be very happy. You can have a good pay, happy kids, shepherding a congregation. You may not realize it, but you can be stuck in that your whole life. However, God desires for us to be continually elevated our entire lives. Our Christ should be different year after year. Every period of time we should realize we have a different Christ, a different enjoyment of Christ, and a different applying of Christ. Even if you come from a prestigious university, eventually no one will ask you about it. They only care about where you are today. Brothers, where are you today? We should desire to grow into an elevated person.
– Titus Chu
This matter of elevation is challenging because oftentimes we may not even realize that we need it. It is easy to become satisfied with what we know of the Lord and with our service to the Lord and to the church. Comfortability is comfortable for a reason. It’s relaxing, reassuring, and means no pressure. May the Lord be merciful to us by appearing to us and calling us on to advance stage by stage in our walk with Him.