When Eagles Rise: The Call to Ascend

Many people in therapy describe feeling stuck at “ground level”—weighed down by addiction, anxiety, depression, trauma, or shame. It can feel like you’re barely getting through the day, let alone rising or growing. Scripture speaks honestly to that heaviness, yet it also offers a different picture: God calling us to ascend, step by step, toward Him.

This devotional reflection explores what it means to “climb” toward God in daily life, and how that process parallels the hard but hopeful work of therapy and recovery.

“Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” (Colossians 3:1)

God wants us to ascend daily. The word ascend comes from the Latin ascendere, made up of two parts: ad, meaning “to” or “toward,” and scandere, meaning “to climb.” Put together, it paints a picture of climbing toward something—or in our case, Someone. God is calling us to climb toward Him.

Where is He? Scripture tells us that God has exalted Christ “to the highest place” and seated Him “at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion” (Ephesians 1:20–21). His position cannot be measured, mapped, or contained by human categories. The distance between where we are and where He is cannot be quantified, yet it is not closed off to us. In fact, this immeasurable gap is one of the clearest evidences of His greatness: He dwells in unapproachable light, and yet He makes Himself approachable through Christ (1 Timothy 6:16; Hebrews 4:14–16).

So we have a worthwhile journey to take here on earth as we climb toward Him daily. This is not a literal climb but a spiritual one—setting our minds “on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1–2). Each day, in prayer, obedience, worship, and trust, we take another step upward. As we climb toward Him, we are not left unchanged. We are “being transformed into his image with ever‑increasing glory” (or “from one degree of glory to another”) as we behold the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18). The psalmist describes those who journey toward God as going “from strength to strength; each appears before God in Zion” (Psalm 84:7). This is the daily ascension of the believer: glory to glory, strength to strength.

Isaiah tells us that “those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31). Conceptually, ascending means rising to higher levels or moving upward from a base. In real life, that ascent often begins with a steep, effortful phase, continues through a middle phase where we develop skill and holy habits, and over time can become swifter and more fluid as we learn to cooperate with grace. Like the eagle, we may struggle at first to gain height, but as our spiritual “wings” strengthen and the currents of God’s Spirit carry us, we begin to soar higher and faster than we ever could in our own strength.

This means that our early steps toward God may feel difficult—breaking habits, confronting sin, surrendering control, and choosing obedience when it costs us. Yet Paul urges us to “glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3–4). That hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Hope, rooted in God’s love and promises, becomes the energizing substance that makes every subsequent ascent—every new step of faith—more aligned, more joyful, and more Spirit‑empowered.

Ascending toward God is always a transformative experience. Abraham went up Mount Moriah and encountered God as Provider, discovering that “on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided” (Genesis 22:14). Moses ascended Mount Sinai and returned radiant, having received God’s covenant and glory (Exodus 19–20; 34:29–35). Elijah climbed Horeb in exhaustion and met God not in the wind, earthquake, or fire but in a gentle whisper that reoriented his calling (1 Kings 19:8–18). On a high mountain, Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, His face and garments shining as the Father’s voice declared, “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him” (Matthew 17:1–8). In each story, going up the mountain to meet God results in deep transformation and sends the person back down different than they ascended.

So it is with us. As we answer God’s daily call to ascend—to climb toward Him in faith, obedience, and worship—we are changed. We may begin with struggle, but by His Spirit we will mount up with wings like eagles, moving from glory to glory and strength to strength, until the day we are fully with Him in the heights where He already reigns.

A simple practice for today

Pick one concrete “step upward” for today:

• Turn aside like Moses and give God your full attention, even if just for ten focused minutes.

• Lay one fear, habit, or burden on the altar like Abraham and say, “I trust You here.”

• Spend time in worship and the Word until your perspective shifts from ground‑level to God‑level.

You don’t have to climb the whole mountain in a day. Take one deliberate step toward Him today—and then another tomorrow.

Prayer

Lord, I hear Your call to ascend.
Lift my eyes from what is low and fix them on Christ, who is seated at Your right hand, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion.
Draw my heart upward today—step by step, thought by thought, choice by choice.
Where I feel heavy, give me eagle’s wings; where I feel weak, move me from strength to strength; where I feel dull, transform me from glory to glory as I behold You. Teach me to glory in the small, hidden climbs—the quiet obediences, the surrendered moments—trusting that You are shaping perseverance, character, and hope in me.
Let every ascent into Your presence send me back down into my world more like Jesus: more loving, more courageous, more rooted in truth.
In Jesus’ name, amen.

A note from Designed to Overcome, LLC

This devotional is offered as spiritual encouragement and does not replace professional care. If you are struggling with addiction, anxiety, depression, trauma, or overwhelming stress, you do not have to walk through it alone.

Designed to Overcome, LLC provides comprehensive addiction and mental health counseling for adults and adolescents in the Houston and Friendswood area, with treatment plans that consider your history, culture, family, spirituality, and current stressors.

If you’d like to talk with someone about what you’re facing, visit the Contact page on our site or call the office to schedule an appointment.