Before we climb the mountain, we have to choose the mountain. 

I went skiing in Utah recently. My experience to that point included Sugar Mountain in North Carolina, which is 4,432 feet tall. The mountain I skiied in Utah was over 10,000 of fresh powder, and I was not prepared for the fear I would be facing. I was a little bit terrified, but I did it anyway. I chose to conquer the mountain that was in front of me – even if it meant sliding on my rear end part of the way. (Shout out to the ski patrol girl, Rachel, who helped me make it safely to the bottom.)

I believe in free will, which means that I believe Abraham had a choice when God called him to sacrifice Isaac. Much like Mordecai warned Esther that God could bring deliverance from another place if she chose not to fight for her people, God could have used a different man, a different son, and a different mountain (Esther 4:14). 

(In some ways, He eventually did – a different Man, a different Son, a different mountain.)

But Abraham had been training for this moment. Even before God called him to leave Ur, he was a man of character who listened to God’s heart – it’s why God chose him. His ability to trust and obey grew over time as he both stumbled and clung to the promises of God. Every choice prepared him for the greatest act of obedience of his life.

It was a defining moment. Would he obey? Or would he find his way out of it, as he had done before (Gen. 12:11-13)?

We all have defining moments; in fact, I believe we have many of them. A few of my first ones were the moment I was called into children’s ministry. I will never forget watching a large group of 2nd-3rd graders worship the King of kings, and the tears that sprang to my eyes at the purity of their worship. Ever since I have longed to help children encounter Jesus. That moment and the decisions that followed began a new journey of obedience. 

The time I was called to move to Atlanta was particularly notable because I have never heard God’s voice so distinctly in my life. Though I had already asked God for signs as to what I should do – signs He gave – I found myself praying for a different outcome. I took a week to fast and pray, but halfway through the Lord stopped me in my tracks. He made it clear that if I chose to stay in Missouri, I would be acting in direct disobedience. Much like Abraham, I left my family and several of my dreams behind and went to Atlanta.

My release from Atlanta three and a half years later was another mountain. It was time for me to branch out on my own, and I needed the courage to do it. Moving to Florida brought new mountain after new mountain as I said yes (and no) to various roles at Christ Fellowship, all of which have required courage, boldness, and obedience beyond what I possess naturally.

One of the most influential podcasts I have ever listened to is Havilah Cunnington’s “Normals of Transition”. In it, she discusses what we can expect when we face transition when we choose a mountain. She compares it to labor and the “moment of transition” in which a mom has to make a choice: bail (which is technically impossible) or move forward with the difficult physical process of birthing a child. 

Mountain-choosing seasons are like this. There are moments all along the way in which we have to choose, choose, choose to act in obedience. This is not a one-and-done moment. I believe that every step Abraham made, every movement towards the peak of that mountain, was an act of obedience. Even as he walked his son to his death, Abraham was confident that God would come through on His promises – “Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death” (Heb. 11:19).

Faith like this is lived out over countless moments. I think back to the story of Martha and Mary at the time of Lazarus’ death. Jesus waited to come to them, and when he approached “Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Martha had a faith that endured in the middle of the mountain. Even when she couldn’t see the answer, she knew who Jesus was and what He was capable of doing. Even in Jesus’ absence during her brother’s final days, Instead of succumbing to the emotion of the moment, Martha clung to her faith in the God of miracles.

When I climb a mountain – when I head towards a place where it seems my dreams will die, my heart will break, my life will end – I want to cling to my faith in the God of miracles.

One of my defining moments occurred during this breakup season. As I was journaling in the week following, Holy Spirit reminded me of a concern that I had years before. Marriage has always been the greatest desire of my heart, and in my late teens/early twenties, I had a question in my spirit – what if God fulfilled this desire before I never know if I would have chosen Him first? That’s not a question that my flesh wanted to be answered, but my spirit wondered – would I choose Him?

As I journaled that day, I experienced a joyous realization: I chose Him. Even as I watched what I thought was the greatest desire of my heart walk away, I knew that I would be okay because Christ is the greatest desire of my heart.

I once read a powerful quote that in essence said, “In this life, we have a beautiful privilege to worship God in sorrows, in heartache, in difficulties, in a way that we will not be able to in heaven.” The author went on to say that one day we will almost wistfully look back on the privilege we had to worship the Lord during our difficult times, times that will not exist in heaven due to the perfection of what awaits us.

I didn’t know that I would have the chance to make that choice, and I didn’t know what I would choose. These thin moments between heaven and earth are places where we make the choice: to worship or to walk away, to sacrifice or to keep, to obey or to refuse. When we choose the mountain, we choose worship that is so precious to Him as our Lord and to us as His followers. We show Him – and we show ourselves – that we are willing to choose any mountain that He brings our way.

The mountain may seem small, but how you are climbing it – if you are climbing it – will directly effect your future and your later ability to climb the next mountain. God can’t trust you with mountains if you won’t honor Him on hills, and it is in the mountain moments that we truly have the privilege of worshipping Him.

Every mountain is a privilege. Every sacrifice is an offering to the Lord, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to worship Him in this moment. 

I’m so thankful for the mountains.