Our Focal Scripture speaks of that moment when Jesus came within the precincts of Bethphage and Bethany, and stood at the Mount of Olives. That Mount of Olives was within the cities of Bethphage and Bethany, but it was neither called the Mount of Bethphage, nor the Mount of Bethany. ‘Bethphage’ means ‘unripe figs’ or ‘affliction’, while ‘Bethany’ means ‘House of Misery’.
So the Mount of Olives was located within two cities with negative identities, but it had a different identity and a different height. The Mount of Olives may have been located in the midst of ‘Affliction’ or ‘Misery’, but it was a location of divine encounters. The negativity that Bethphage and Bethany were known for did not happen to the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives had a reality that was different from its environment.
Friend, you may be caught up in the midst of the ‘Bethanys’ and ‘Bethphages’ of this world, but your identity is different and your reality will also be different. The negativity around you will not prevail over you. The negativity that others around you are experiencing will not be your portion. The negative results of people around you will not be your portion. The afflictions and misery of people around you will not come your way.
The Mount of Olives was a Mount, higher than the regular low grounds of Bethphage and Bethany, and it assumed an identity different from its environment. Because it was higher, it was different. Hear me as I hear the Lord: you are supernaturally higher and advantaged, and your results will not be negative. Because you are seated with Christ, you will not take on the negative identity of your environment.
You may be in the same place where things have gone awry, but your identity is different. Whatever the environment is saying, your case is different.
