Hinds' Feet ... Upon High Places

Psalms 18: 32:33 - "It is God who girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect.  He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places."

These are the key verses for this Hinds' Feet Ministry.  Indeed God is calling us in this time to walk upon high places in him.  But what are these high places, why hinds' feet and what does it all mean to us?  First of all, let us see what the word high means.

Definition of "high"

In the Hebrew, the word high means elevation, or height.  In the Greek it speaks of above the sky or heavenly.  So when we talk about high places it is the same as talking about heavenly places.

 

As we go through this study we will see that:

Jesus - Our Pattern

Ephesians 1:17-23 - "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come;  and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all."

In verse 20 of this passage we see where God raised Christ from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.  Furthermore, Christ has been set far above all principality and power.  We do not have any problem believing that God could have set Christ up in heavenly places, and seat him at his right hand in heavenly places.  We don't have any problem believing that God could have set Christ far above any principality or dominion or any name that is named.  But there is another piece to this.  Remember Jesus is our pattern.  That means that whatever Jesus does, God will be doing in and through us sooner or later.  And the sooner the better.

 

Ephesians 2:4-6 - "But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath made us alive together with Christ (by grace are ye saved), and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

So there you have it:  

God had a reason for doing this.

God's Purpose

Ephesians 2:7,10 - "That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

 

Ephesians 3:9-11 - "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages hath been hidden in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ, To the intent that now, unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places, might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus, our Lord."

God has several reasons for performing such a work in us:

So God has seated us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that we can show forth God Himself.  Verse 7 speaks of being created unto good works and there is none good but God.  In chapter 3, we see God's desire to make all men see His grace and the fellowship of a relationship with God.  Verse 11 goes on to show that God's plan included our demonstrating the manifold wisdom of God not only to man but to principalities and powers. 

 

Therefore we have a two-fold mission:

Put a different way:

So spiritually we must be submitted to God and living spiritually as God would have us to live.  But it does not stop there.  We must also be submitted completely to God in the natural and living in our daily lives as God would have us to live.  You see, the revelation of Jesus Christ cannot be separated from our everyday walk.  Because as Jesus Christ is revealed to us spiritually as we begin to see God as he is, our natural life is going to change.  1 John 3:2 talks about God revealing himself as He is.  And, as we begin to see God as He is, as our spirits are totally awakened to Christ in us and the reality of a relationship with God where we are one with His son Jesus Christ, our daily lifestyles are going to change.  So, as each of us gets a revelation of Jesus Christ, it will change our natural, everyday lifestyle.

 

God's revelation is not just for us to be having a good time or to be off in a corner somewhere enjoying ourselves.  Rather, in our daily activities we must be showing forth such life, such peace, such joy, that the world would be compelled to respond to His love and say, "Lo this is very Christ!"  Hallelujah!  What a reality! What a purpose to life! What a relationship we can have with God!  To think that we can show forth His life - the life within flowing forth to touch and to heal others.

Our Total Submission to God

This means that in order for us to show forth what God is, we must be doing and speaking only what God is doing and speaking.  As Jesus Himself said in John 5: 19, 20, 30

"The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do; for whatever things he doeth, these also doeth the Son in the same manner.  For the Father loveth the son and showeth him all things that he himself doeth;  and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.  I can of mine own self do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father who hath sent me."

So for God to be manifest in us in this earth, there has to be a total dependence, a total reliance, a total submission to God in order that we can be one with God, in order that we can be so in tune with God that we wait to see what God is speaking and doing.  For in this way, we can know what we are to do or speak.  If we bear witness of ourselves our witness will not be true. It must be God at the center of it all.  For it is God who is revealing himself to us and God who is working in us to manifest himself in this earth.  So let us see what God is doing. 

Bringing Heaven to Earth

Amos 4:13 - "For he that formeth the mountains and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, who maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The lord, The God of hosts, is his name."

Here we see the same God who is seated in heavenly places is now walking upon the high places of the earth.  Heaven is come to earth.  God is after a many-membered son who will manifest God in the earth, in our daily lives.  That is us! For since we are seated in heavenly places with him, and God is treading upon the high places of the earth we will be walking there with him too.

 

As it says in Habakkuk 3:19:

"The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet and he will make me walk upon mine high places."

So our relationship with God must indeed go beyond just being seated with him and having a good time with him,  reveling in the fact that we are seated in heavenly places.  Oh glory!  We have a mission on earth.  There must be such a change in our lifestyle that the world can see a people totally submitted unto God,  caught up in doing His will whether we be in the workplace or at home or the supermarket, wherever we may find ourselves.  The world must not see us following the same vain customs and traditions as they do, but instead the life and love of God should be flowing in every situation.  It is not for us to leave the world nor to start acting funny, but, each thing we do, each word must be so full of the love of God that it ministers grace to those around us.

 

You see the world desires to see Jesus (John 12:20,21) and they are going looking for Him.  So it is high time for us who know Jesus and are known of him to start walking in the high places that God has called us to.  It is time for us to see Jesus as he is so that we can be like him, as it says in 1 John 3:2, in order that God can be manifest on the earth.  The earth needs to see a demonstration of God as He is, not what man has made him out to be. But we have walked in the low land so long that we have grown to love it there.  We are accustomed to the routine of knowing when to get up, when to sit down, what hymn to sing, what words to pray, where to go when we want to hear a good word and so on.  But now God is challenging us to climb a little higher, to step forth in God who is leading us on.  Remember He is our pattern, He is already seated there, He is already walking in the places in which He is calling us to walk.  

 

Now, in the high places we are not going to be spoon-fed anymore.  The minister who brought that good word has left town or worse yet, died.  So we have to press a little further into God ourselves to get the meat we need to strengthen us.  Certainly we can learn a lot from each other.  But God would have each one of us seeking Him daily instead of waiting until Sunday to get that shot in the arm that is supposed to carry us all week.  We are talking about our lifestyles changing - our daily walk changing because of the revelation that we have of Christ Jesus.

 

There are principalities and powers in high places - it can be dangerous up there. But we don't have to fear because as Jesus is seated far above principalities and powers - so are we.  And as long as we follow as God leads, we can make it through.  It takes determination.  Habakkuk 3:17,18 states:

"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stall;  yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."

We have to be determined to walk the path that God marks out for us even if it seems harder, for God is faithful and He knows what He is doing.  The revelation of Jesus Christ goes deeper than head knowledge or just quoting scripture.  It is a new lifestyle  that takes us beyond what we have been accustomed to doing.  It makes us step out in areas that we have never walked in before.

 

So what are these hinds' feet and what are these high places?

Hinds' Feet, The High Places

Back in Psalms 18:32,33,29, we see:

"He maketh my feet like hinds' feet and setteth me upon my high places.  For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God, have I leaped over a wall."

It is wonderful for us to think of  living in heavenly places but there is a practical application to it too.  When we get to these high places of the earth we see they are situations custom-built for us to manifest His life.  It might look like a difficult situation, like things are so hard, but because we are stationed in heavenly places ... we can see these situations as just another opportunity to use the mountain climbing hinds' feet;  just another chance to demonstrate, to show forth the life of Christ.  So, why hinds' feet?

 

Hind

The hind is the female of the Red Deer;  not the doe or the fallow deer.  "Fallow" is a pale yellow, sickly, yellowish-brown color.  Fallow speaks of ground that is untilled, uncultivated and not sown (Hosea 10:12).

God has called us to be ground that is tilled and sown so that His life can come forth.

Red speaks of blood or giving life and life produces the fruit that differentiates us from the world - the peace, joy, goodness, gentleness, meekness of the spirit.  These qualities that make our daily lives so different from the worrisome torment of the world come from the life within us producing the fruit of the spirit. 

Hinds' Feet

The hinds' feet are very skinny  and do not appear strong nor useful.  But, remember God is the One who takes the things that are nothing and makes something of them.

The feet of the hinds have two main purposes:

According to Brian Staines in "The Red Deer" (p. 25, copyright 1980, Blandford Press Ltd.),

"... in hill country, the stags move down to lower parts, the moors ... but the hinds remain on the higher ground ... usually stags are found in the lowest part of the valley and hinds in the highest."

It is therefore not by accident that God says He is making us hinds' feet.  So fellow saints, get those hinds' feet moving and let us ascend to the heights in God.

God Manifest Through Us To The World 

In Isaiah 58:13,14 , we read:

"If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words;  Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord;  and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob, thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."

So first God reveals himself to us so we can be like him.  Then he pulls the covers back or strips us so the world can see the workings of God in us and glorify the father.  Christ is revealed to us so He can be revealed in us and then finally through us that all the world can see Him.

 

According to Titus 2:7 - "In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works", we must show forth the standard that God has set.  The life within us is setting the standard for the world to follow - the standard of righteous living. 

But, how do we share this with others?

Ministering To Others 

In Isaiah 49:8-10, we read:

"I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages, that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; ... They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.  They shall not hunger nor thirst, ... for he who hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them."

Who is in high places?  We are.  So who will feed the others here?  We will. So God is bringing us to a place where others will see a new standard and come and feed on or partake of this new pattern.  They must be able to find nourishment and food in us so that they can live and walk in what we are demonstrating - a practical demonstration in our daily lives.  Such a life of Christ flowing forth through us that others can walk in that same life and find an answer to their problems.

 

In Isaiah 41:17,18, we read:

"When the poor and needy seek water, ... I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys."

Not only must the world be able to feed but drink from us also.  We will be a river to refresh the world.  As Jesus said in John 7:37, 38 that out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters.  Our lifestyle must bring a quickening to others.  It will stir other lives to make them want to seek this life and this peace that we are demonstrating.  We are to be a people to whom others can come in time of need and receive life-giving bread and water to satisfy their thirst that they will not thirst again, and satisfy their hunger that they will hunger no more.

 

Finally, in Psalms 46:7, we once again see the pattern of God being a refuge for us.  A refuge is an high place for us.  So, as God gives us security, we must be a comfort to others.  All in all, we know that others can find food, water, security, rest, sanctuary in us as God is revealed through us.

Summary

In summary then, the high places speak of:

The hinds' feet speak of:

Click for more study articles.

Click to share your thoughts with us.

Please allow 24 hours for a response.

Tel: 888-705-0031 Fax: 561-244-2546