Look higher than me in 2023

By Pastor Ryan Stockstrom

Harvest Fellowship Church

It seems to be popular in our culture to look within to find truth, self-esteem, love, light, and so on. We often hear the term “my truth” and that the greatest “sin”  is to deny your own truth.

There’s more than a few self-help books that will help you to love yourself; speak positive affirmations, and so on. There’s definitely some good in learning to find the value within who God made us to be and thinking and speaking positively definitely has value.  

So does being honest with ourselves and others.  

I think if we are only looking within ourselves for meaning and purpose and love; we are ultimately going to come up short. We rip ourselves off by not searching for something higher, greater, more powerful, and far more loving than ourselves.

The Psalmist wrote: “I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.”  Psalm 121: 1-2 (MSG)

It’s like he’s saying: I looked at the tallest, strongest, sturdiest part of creation I could see – the mountains. But can my strength come from them? No. My strength comes from the creator of the mountains. 

Is it wrong to look inward? To go on a journey of discovering yourself? No.  

But, when you get to the end of you; just remember somebody greater created you. And He knows you even better than you know yourself. And He has love and hope and life and truth available to you in a relationship with Him. God wants to be your source.

In 2023, will you settle for being “the best version of me,” or will you go on a fascinating journey far beyond self discovery, into discovering the source of all light, love, purpose, and power? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Let’s look “higher than me”  in 2023. Happy New Year!