The Mountains Are CallingSample

God the Provider: Mount Moriah

Abraham was by no means a perfect man. But in spite of Abraham’s weaknesses, God made a promise to him that he would be the father of nations. And God always keeps his promises.

When Abraham was one hundred years old, God finally gave him and Sarah the son of promise—Isaac. So when a few years later God asked Abraham to sacrifice that one and only son on Mount Moriah, you can imagine that Abraham wondered why.

But Abraham didn’t negotiate or hesitate. Despite what must have been great inner turmoil, he made the decision to obey God at the cost of his own son. He was going where God had called him to go and doing what God told him to do. Surrender. Obedience. This is how Abraham made it up the mountain, and it’s what will get us up the mountain. 

Like Abraham, we are faced with a choice. It’s a choice that involves the mind, the heart, and the will. The temptation as we ascend this mountain is to focus on what we are giving up or what we are called to sacrifice. This will only stall our progress up the mountain. The way of wisdom is to put our focus on God and trust him one step at a time, one day at a time. This is how we ascend the mountain to know God, even when he has called us to do the seemingly impossible. 

Abraham’s absolute obedience stirred the heart of the God who promises and provides. And there, caught in a thicket by its horns, was a ram. There was a substitution on the mountain that day. Abraham sacrificed the ram instead of his son.

On that mountain, Abraham came to know God in a new way. He met God the provider, the One who saved his son. Through that provision, God showed Abraham, When you follow me to the mountain, you will find that I am your perfect provision. My promises are all you need. My grace is sufficient. 

When we answer God’s call to the mountain and learn of his provision, God shows us that we can climb the mountain of sacrifice knowing that he is faithful, that he will make himself known. On the mountain, we see that God provides everything we’ve been looking for and desiring—himself.

When has God provided for you in a surprising way?