The Mountain Standing Before You
What mountain is standing before you today? Is it a mountain of doubt, or is it a mountain that is increasing your faith? Are you having difficulty trusting that God will come through in a certain area of your life today? Are you struggling to believe that God has heard your prayers, that He knows the desires of your heart, and that God is able to provide for you? Do you feel as if there are insurmountable obstacles that stand before you and the promises that you believe God has spoken into your life?
I can imagine that the day God tapped on Abraham’s shoulder and told him to take a walk with his son Isaac to Mount Moriah, and then gave him the purpose for their journey (), that Abraham must have been rocked to the core of his being as he processed through what God had asked of him. The Bible doesn’t reveal to us what was going on in this loving father’s heart as he was travelling with the son in whom he treasured so much. However, I can imagine that there was a terribly fierce war going on within his heart and mind as they made the 3-day trek to Moriah ().
We know that by the time Abraham and Isaac made it to Mount Moriah, that Abraham had settled it in his heart that God was going to somehow spare Isaacs life, and provide a sacrifice for Himself some other way, due to the fact that he told his servants that he and Isaac would return down from the mountain together (). The Bible informs us that Abraham’s faith was so big, that he actually believed that even if Isaac was sacrificed that day, God would have simply raised him up from the dead (). What incredible faith!
Once Abraham took Isaac up to the top of the mountain, this mountain of death, he began preparing to offer Isaac as a burnt offering to the Lord (), when at the last moment God showed up and saved the day (). Then we read in that, "Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, 'in the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.'"
In Hebrew, The-LORD-Will-Provide is Jehovah-Jireh. Jehovah-Jireh is not simply an additional name that God is known by, but more importantly, it is a definition of who God is, and what God's nature is like. Meaning, Jehovah-Jireh is not what we call God, but instead it’s how we describe God. The LORD will provide!
In fact, this is a scriptural promise and unchanging truth about God, to all who trust in Him (cf. ). It is in God's very nature and character to provide!
Abraham went up to that mountain of testing, knowing that even with his most treasured possession on earth, his son Isaac, that God would still provide. That mountain was not only a mountain of testing it was a mountain of death. To the unbelieving heart, it was a mountain that represented the death of Abraham's dreams, the death of God's promises, and the death of God's future work through the children of Israel. And yet, rather than give in to the doubt and despair that this event would surely bring upon any person faced with Abraham's situation, Abraham said to that mountain, "MOVE!" and it moved! The reason it moved is because Abraham had faith in Jehovah-Jireh, that the LORD-Will-Provide! It's who God is! It is what God does! He provides!
In fact, Abraham even renamed that mountain from Moriah to Jehovah-Jireh. Oh, that we would have faith like Abraham at Mount Moriah, to name every obstacle that is placed before us in life, “Jehovah-Jireh”, The-LORD-Will-Provide.
What a wonderful example Abraham sets for us as a man who trusted in God to provide, even with his most treasured possession at stake. I am not sure what your mountain of testing looks like right now. Whether it is a financial obstacle, a physical obstacle, a spiritual obstacle, a relational obstacle, or something else that feels as if it is simply impossible to overcome. Whatever it is you might be facing today, I am persuaded that God is still on the throne and is ever willing to help you overcome that impossible mountain that has you believing your hopes and your dreams are dead, and that your situation is too difficult for you to handle.
It is my prayer that you will be fully persuaded to trust that the Lord is still Jehovah-Jireh, the Great Provider! Again, it is who He is, and it is what He does. He will Provide!