Ascending Higher: A Guide to Your Relationship With God

Achieving a higher relationship with God is the greatest education and development a human being can experience, as it brings the finite mind into communion with the InfiniteCCh 207.7+2. This journey requires a vital, living connection that transforms the character and empowers the soul for serviceCH 507.1+2.

The Foundation of a Higher Relationship

• The Highest Joy: You were created for fellowship with God, and your soul can only find its real life and highest joy in HimCCh 207.7.

• A Vital Connection: For the full development of both intellectual and spiritual powers, there must be a vital connection with the highest source of activityCH 507.1+1.

• The Power of the Word: Studying God's word brings you in touch with its Author, enlarging the narrow confines of human scholarshipCCh 207.7+1.

• Recognizing God's Character: Those who have exalted views of God's character will find it their highest pleasure to honor Him in everything connected to HimT17 78.2.

Practical Steps to Draw Nearer

• Jealously Guard Your Time: Set aside a specific portion of each day for prayer, Bible study, and self-examinationPaM 21.4+2.

• The Remedy of Praise: When you feel oppressed, talking of the light and love of God strengthens the soul and draws you closer to Him1NL 36.2.

• Humility and Repentance: God hears the sincere prayer of the humble; therefore, humble yourself under His hand, and He will lift you upTSA 78.1+1.

• The Discipline of Prayer: To satisfy your emotional and spiritual needs, you must learn the power of prayer and plead for the Lord to teach you how to prayPr 3.3.

Obstacles to Spiritual Advancement

• The Separation of Sin: Sin is what separates an individual from God, and we can only draw near to Him by the removal of the sin that separates usPTUK November 29, 1894, page 768.10.

• Double-Mindedness: Attempting to serve both God and the world makes the soul unstable and unable to appreciate the perfection of Christ's characterYI February 8, 1894, par. 5+1.

• Carnal Security: Tame, commonplace religious experiences can lull people into a carnal security that avoids real heart work21MR 185.7+1.

• Worldly Influences: We must at times withdraw from the scenes of the world to fortify ourselves against influences unfavorable to holinessARSH January 15, 1857, page 83.8.

The Fruits of a Higher Walk

• Transformation of Character: By communion with God, your nature is raised from its earthliness and you are transformed into His imageHM November 1, 1890, par. 11+2.

• Strength for Trials: Constant communion gives you spiritual strength to be superior to disappointment, weariness, and the strife of tongues3SM 310.3+1.

• Service to Others: Those who drink from the living stream of Christ's grace will naturally guide others to that same streamCH 507.1+2.

• Unified Purpose: When workers and families are in living connection with God, they blend in labor to make the work of soul-saving completePaM 76.3+1.

Encouragement for the Journey

• The Ladder of Brightness: Jesus is the connection between earth and heaven, the ladder through which light and blessing come to the children of men4LtMs, Ms 11, 1886, par. 5.

• A Daily Work: True sanctification is not a flight of feeling but a daily work of overcoming natural tendencies and seeking holinessRH January 18, 1881, par. 9+1.

• A Certain Reward: Not one who is earnest and persevering will fail of success; the weakest saint may wear the crown of immortal gloryAA 313.2.

• The Promise of Presence: As you draw near to God, He will draw near to you, and His presence will be a safeguard from sin1888 1012.1+2.

"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded" James 4:8. "Acquaint now yourself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come to you" Job 22:21. "But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" John 4:14.