When Climbing Costs You Your Calling
- satiseroddyonline
- Nov 21, 2025
- 4 min read
“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man?If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10
We live in a day when “climbing” has become its own culture.
There is climbing for visibility, climbing for recognition, climbing for the in-crowd, the platform, the connection, the seat at the table.
A few years ago, a lady I had been ministering to for years said something to me that the Holy Spirit recently brought back to my memory. I remember her words as if they were yesterday. She looked at me and said:
“Pastor Satise, you are a ladder.” I didn’t understand at first. So, I asked her what she meant.
She said,“You help others climb, no matter what it costs you. You never use people to elevate yourself. You lift people. You steady people. You become the support that helps others reach what God has for them.”
That statement struck me deeply, and I didn’t know how prophetic it was at the time.
But the Spirit of the Lord later showed me:
There is a difference between climbing a ladder and becoming one.
A ladder-climber uses people. A ladder-builder lifts people. A ladder sent by God becomes a bridge to help others rise.
And then this question rose in my Spirit:
“When is it ever a good thing to climb a ladder, God never told you to step on?”
Some ladders look sturdy but lean against the wrong wall.Some ladders will take you higher but only move you farther from His will.Some ladders elevate your visibility while lowering your discernment.
When you become the ladder God uses, He elevates you in ways no crowd ever could.
Jesus Himself never climbed ladders.He became the ladder.He lifted the broken.He elevated the ignored.He raised the fallen.He stooped low so others could rise.
I believe the Holy Spirit is calling His sons and daughters back to this posture of Kingdom humility:
Don’t climb. Carry.Don’t compete. Lift.Don’t chase platforms. Build people. This world celebrates the climb,but Heaven celebrates the servant.
I often share in my sermons an analogy the Holy Spirit gave me about what it really means to follow Jesus.
There were crowds who genuinely followed Jesus, but there were also crowds who simply followed the crowd.
Some followed Him out of revelation. Some followed Him out of routine. Some followed Him because they heard the Truth.Others followed Him because they heard noise.Some followed out of hunger. Others followed out of hype.
The Spirit of the Lord has made it clear to me over the years:
Not everyone who is walking behind Jesus is actually following Him.Some are just moving with the momentum of the people around them.
Hear this: The crowd does not confirm your calling. The Holy Spirit does.
I was reminded of Absalom in the Old Testament. He had influence, charisma, beauty, and he had momentum with the people. But instead of waiting for God’s timing, he climbed. He positioned himself at the city gate, hugging, flattering, manipulating and drawing hearts to himself.
And Scripture says,“Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.” 2 Samuel 15:6
Absalom climbed a ladder of influence, but it wasn’t built by God. And the same ladder he climbed became the structure of his downfall.
Ambition without submission leads to destruction.
You can climb your way into a position your character is too underdeveloped to sustain.
You can climb up the wrong calling. You can climb into a spotlight that exposes what you didn’t surrender.
“Don’t let your ambition outrun your anointing.”
“If being seen becomes more important than being obedient, you will drift from your calling.”
Popularity cannot anoint you. Platforms cannot purify you. Recognition cannot release you.
And if the only reason you want to be elevated is because someone else was elevated,you are climbing out of comparison, not calling.
Your assignment is not found at the top of a ladder; it is found at the feet of Jesus.
The crowd tells you what sounds good. The Holy Spirit tells you what is good.
The crowd pushes you to climb. The Holy Spirit pulls you to surrender.
The crowd encourages visibility. The Holy Spirit fosters humility.
One whisper from God can take you farther than a thousand praises from people.
This is the season to tune your ear back to the Spirit, not the culture, not the opinions, not the pressure, not the desire to be seen…But His voice alone.
Hear me in the Spirit.
“Step off every ladder God never assigned. Exit every room He did not send you into. Stop climbing for man’s approval.
Return to the place where the voice of the Holy Spirit leads your steps.He is the One who elevates, promotes, and makes your name known in Heaven.If you follow Him, He will take you farther than any crowd ever could.”
Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus,Purify our motives.Uproot the desire to be seen, chosen, or admired by man.Deliver us from comparison, competition, and climbing culture.Teach us to lift others, not use them.Teach us to serve from a humble heart, not from ambition. Holy Spirit, lead our steps and guide our hearts. We choose Your direction over every platform. Your voice over every crowd. Your will over every ladder. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
If you are reading this and the Holy Spirit is tugging on your heart today, that is not by accident. God is calling you closer to Him.
Jesus taught that to enter the Kingdom of God, we must be born again, made new through faith in Him. If you're unsure what that means or you’ve never made that decision, I encourage you to connect with a mature believer who can help guide you into that life-changing step and walk with you into baptism and new life in Jesus Christ.I encourage you to get planted. Find a Bible-teaching, Holy Spirit-filled church family that will pray for you, love you, disciple you, and walk alongside you.
Pursue Jesus with your whole heart and watch Him transform your life.
Pastor Satise Roddy
Come Expecting … Leave Transformed
Satise Roddy Ministries