There is nothing more exhilarating than pushing the throttles all the way to the “stops” and letting the force of  54,000 pounds of after-burning thrust lift you into the heavens. But slowly but surely you come to that point where there just isn’t enough thrust to push you any higher, and you take one last look around before leaving that rarefied air for the clouds below. It never gets tiring!

I was remembering that feeling this morning as I was reading Proverbs 15. There were two verses that got my spirit to focus on pushing a different set of throttles that know no limit, that have no “service ceiling.”

Prov 15:14 The heart of him that has understanding seeks knowledge…

If you have been following our ministry for any length of time you will recall that I have often referred to Jesus and the Holy Spirit as being revealed in the Bible as “wisdom” and “understanding,” respectively. And here in verse 14 we have another example… the heart of the one who has the Holy Spirit seeks knowledge. That should be the desire of each one of us. To look to our “Helper,” our “Counselor,” our “Paraclete” for greater knowledge.

Prov 15:24 The way of life winds upward for the wise, That he may turn away from hell below.

That is where we belong, far above the conflict and chaos of the world around us. That is where we are being called. That is our true destiny resides…

Phil 3:20-21 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

Therefore, if the way of our life as the bride of Christ is to “wind upward,” then we have to take the necessary steps to push our throttles all the way forward, past the stops and into afterburner. That is the only way we are going to be lifted all the way up.

Col 3:1-2 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Once the virus of aviation gets into your blood stream, there is no turning back. There is nothing that is more serene, more breathtaking, or more exhilarating than slipping the surly bonds of earth with the roar of two powerful engines driving you upward. And outside of the cockpit there is only one other way to accomplish that, and that is to seek knowledge from above with an understanding heart.

Every time we lift our heart up to the Lord in prayer, in worship, and in the study of His Word, we are ever so surely winding our life upward. That’s where we belong…

Eph 2:4-7 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

And that’s the beauty of who we are in Jesus. We can soar in heavenly places anytime we desire and never have to worry about running out of thrust. The Holy Spirit is on board to supply us with all the power we need to wind our life upward. Yes, we are free from hell below, but more importantly we find ourselves flying high in the rarefied air of wisdom. 

God has called us and chosen us to be transformed into the image of His Son, and the only way that can take place is if we slip those surly bonds…

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
– Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.”