Hot air balloons always looked like a fun ride to take but I never had the pleasure. Maybe I will venture out with Hubby one day. One Saturday evening earlier this year as I was doing my final preparing for my worship set for that week, the hot air balloon came to mind. Interesting, right? Well our church was in a sermon series called Higher at the time and as the songs were playing during my prep time that evening, I began to think about what it takes for a hot air balloon to get off the ground and to go UP as it was INTENDED and designed.
Hot air balloons operate and are fueled by air and fire, HOWEVER, for the balloon to get off the ground, the person(s) MUST release the sandbags that are connected. Sandbags are weights used to keep the balloon to the ground. It doesn’t matter how much you try to fuel that balloon, IF those sandbags are connected, that balloon will NOT have the ability to go UP.
We can be a lot like that hot air balloon that needs to go up but can’t because we have sandbags attached. We may have some things going on in life, somethings that are attached to us keeping us from operating in how WE were created. WHAT in your life can you think of right now that is preventing you from going UP? WHAT weight is holding you down? Is it bitterness, lying, PRIDE, offense, UNhealthy soul ties, hatred, stinginess, comparison to others, old seasons, envy, insecurity, lust, worry, UNforgiveness, people pleasing, addiction, FEAR, partiality to name a few?
God DESIGNED US to go higher. His word speaks about going from glory to glory, faith to faith, and strength to strength. There is always a NEW LEVEL to go UP on this journey with HIM both spiritually and in our practical lives. God WANTS us to prosper and be in health. HE has a hope and a future waiting for us. Nothing and no one is worth staying on ground level for… when He is CALLING YOU higher. And as soon as you are able to go UP, you will see how small those things really are you THOUGHT were so big in your life keeping you down. So be encouraged to release those sandbags today… let them GO.
Do not be afraid. The Lord is with you, He is FOR YOU, and He will protect you. Let the fire of God through His Holy Spirit FUEL you UP and HIGHER. Let that passion He has placed inside of you FUEL you UP and HIGHER without restraints, holding on to nothing BUT HIM.
PRAYER: Father I honor who you are in my life. I am so grateful for the opportunity to come to you boldly. There is no one and nothing worth more than answering your call to go HIGHER. Forgive me. I release every hindrance and cast off every burden right now. I hear you calling me to a higher place of praise. I hear you calling me to a higher level of thinking, I hear you calling me to a higher place of vision for my life and for my family, I hear you calling me to a higher level of giving of my time and resources. I receive the next level you have for me and I will walk in it without fear. In Jesus Name…AMEN.
SCRIPTURES:
Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV)
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 5:7 (AMP)
7 casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].
Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.