Oluboye Emmanuel Ministry© Mobile Daily Devotional Week 32, Day 7, Saturday, 8th August 2026 TOPIC: Hymn Messages: Higher Ground (7)
TOPIC: Hymn Messages: Higher Ground (7)
One Year Bible Reading:
Psalm 79 - 81
Romans 11:1 - 24
MEMORY VERSE:
Ephesians 5:19.
“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”
BIBLE READING:
Philippians 3:13-14
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Thinking Point:
Higher ground in the race of life is by desire, not by competition.
The Lord strengthens us to keep moving. We shall not fail nor fall, in Jesus’ Name. Our labour and service for the kingdom shall not be in vain, in Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen.
Today, our focus is “Higher Ground” written by Johnson Oatman Jr.
1. I'm pressing on the upward way,
New heights I'm gaining every day;
Still praying as I onward bound,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
Refrain:
Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven's table land;
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
2. My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Tho' some may dwell where these abound,
My pray'r, my aim is higher ground.
3. I want to live above the world,
Though Satan's darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.
4. I want to scale the utmost height,
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I'll pray till Heav'n I've found,
Lord, lead me on to higher ground
Johnson Oatman Jr. was a businessman and lay preacher from New Jersey. He wasn’t a pastor, but he carried a burden to encourage believers to keep growing in God and not remain stagnant. He wrote more than 5,000 hymns that we still sing in churches today.
The idea for “Higher Ground” came from his desire to go deeper with God. He saw that many Christians were content with just “getting saved” but were not pressing forward in faith, holiness, and service. Some were chasing prosperity without seeking God’s will for their lives.
This hymn is both a prayer and a declaration: “Lord, lift me up and let me stand, by faith, on heaven’s tableland.”
It’s not only about going to heaven. It’s about asking God to lift us above sin, discouragement, worldliness, and spiritual dryness into a closer walk with Him.
In our day, Christianity has turned to competition instead of personal devotion. It has become eye service instead of heart service. This hymn calls us to do more for God in the race of faith, just as Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14:
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.”
We must not dwell on the little we’ve done until our spiritual strength runs dry and we become prey in the hand of the devil. That shall not be our portion, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
This is a wake-up call for every believer to desire growth and keep moving in the race of faith. We cannot do it alone. We need Him to strengthen us and keep us faithful.
I encourage you to go through this song again and pray along with it. I see God taking us to higher ground in our walk with Him, in Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen.
God bless you and Good Morning.
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Oluboye Emmanuel Ministry
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