I took my first helicopter tour this week. Every minute was filled with breathtaking views of the Gulf Coast and the beautiful emerald and turquoise water. When I landed, I was ready to go again and see more from this new perspective. It was exhilarating! In all my years of going to the beach, I only knew the earthbound viewpoint. It all changed this week as I gained a heavenly perspective of my cherished Gulf Coast.

You may have heard the phrase “come up higher” as a spiritual exhortation in a sermon or a book. This phrase literally means “God calls you as his beloved to ‘Come and see things from his standpoint and not from the low earthly level from which you have been looking at things.’” The invitation is always there, but we have to act on it. Life is incredibly good and satisfying at ground level. It takes effort and hunger and thirst for more to “come up higher.”

I love the hotel where I stay. A short elevator ride down and I step onto a beautiful pool area with a lazy river, a grill for a convenient lunch or snack, comfortable chairs and umbrellas, music, and a panoramic view of sea oats and ocean landscapes to die for. A few more steps toward the brilliant white sand and I can dip my toes into the salt water and smell the salty breeze.

My 11th-floor balcony is a perfect place to sip coffee and watch the pelicans, gulls, terns, egrets, herons, and sparrows as they cruise their shoreline habitats. Why would I need anything else?

It was my friend who said, “Let’s take a helicopter tour!”  Sometimes God uses others to challenge and stretch us into a heavenly perspective. Their quest for more shakes us loose from the normal and catapults us to higher ground. I am thankful for my friend who wanted a fresh look at the Gulf and challenged me to more than a short elevator ride.

The scripture in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 NLT says, “For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So, encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” A definite part of our salvation is the privilege of encouraging and building one another up. That’s what Christians should do! The world tears down and criticizes, but Christians should build one another up with love and hope.

Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT says, “ Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”  Meeting together with other Christians on Sunday mornings or during the week in home groups is a wonderful way to encourage and challenge one another to “come up higher” see life from God’s perspective.

Peering out the helicopter window, I spotted two sea turtles and a porpoise playing in the ocean. I saw the coastline for miles in both directions. I saw my tiny hotel balcony and wondered how I thought that was enough! I saw all the man-made shops, roads, and buildings and laughed at how minuscule they were compared to the expanse of sky I was flying in. I gained a heavenly perspective.

God cannot and will not be contained in what we can build or what we can control. He wants us to be free and understand life from his point of view. He is God! In Acts 17:24-28 NLT, the Apostle Paul puts it like this, “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live, move, and exist. As some of your poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”

In Christ we live and move and have our being! His way of seeing life is so much more fulfilling and complete than our earthbound ways. I challenge you this week to ask God to expand your horizons and lift you higher so you can gain a heavenly perspective! There is more – don’t be satisfied!