Sunday, August 2, 2009

My Walk Up the Mountain


"Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. ... So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided." - Genesis 22:13-14

Godly wisdom counseled me this week "Loosen your hold to this world dear friend and grab onto the hem of His garment." My heart's cry, to be close enough to my Lord to simply reach out in faith and grab His cloak, to know Him that intimately.

Embarking on a new study, I began to dig deeply into the wealth of treasure hidden in His names. God led me to study Yahweh Yireh - The Lord Will Provide. My faith will never be the same.

Many of us know this name, we use it, we quote it, but my heart did not have a tight grip on this promise. As I delved deeper into the character and nature of my God, my faith bubbled over and His name washed away my doubts.

Abraham walked to sacrifice his son, the fulfillment of a promise God made to him. His faith astounds me. His obedience overwhelms me. His God amazes me. Because Yahweh Yireh provided, as all hope was laid on the altar.

In a sense, I am on that same path, sacrificing my life of ministry on the mission field, a fulfillment of God's promise to my life. Walking down the path to my mountain, I will board a plane to a new mission field, my hometown.

I serve the same Yahweh Yireh. Why would God ask for such a sacrifice? As we place something dear to our hearts on the altar, sacrificing it to Him, we acknowledge that He is God and we are not. In this act of worship and surrender, we experience His provision for our lives as Yahweh Yireh.

I have called out to Him. He has answered, asking me to lay down my dreams, all of His promises fulfilled in my life here in Costa Rica. To surrender them and place them on His altar.

I have grabbed his cloak, knowing He alone is my Yahweh Yireh and I'm expecting with joyful childlike faith the ram of His provision.

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42 comments:

Anonymous said...

A ram in the thicket He wil provide. I have seen Him do it in my life many times and now I too await a ram in the thicket.
Blessings to you!

Morgan said...

What a beautiful picture and beautiful verse.

I'm glad you found my blog so I could find yours!

Heart2Heart said...

Sarah Dawn,

God is amazing in all His promises to us. He has no doubts what so ever in your new endeavor. I am so glad that you have a great open attitude to what ever God will have in store for you next. I know it is simply something amazing for you and your family thanks to your obedience to His will!

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

christy rose said...

He will make His desires your desires and then give you the desires of your heart Sarah Dawn! Lay it down and trust Him. He knows what He is doing!

Who am I... said...

Isn't God amazing...looking back on this time when you are older, you will remember the feelings but be able to see farther on the path God was guiding you. Praying for your adventure, keep a tight hold on his cloak though, the ride could get bumpy!!:)

Sharon Sloan said...

Oh the treasures of obedience. He will bless you so intimately in your heart. Praying and watching with you.

You (one of His "peeps") are a grape in the desert to Him!
Hosea 9:10
When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert

He is going to speak so tenderly to you! In the desert...literally!
Hosea 2:14
I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.

Keep us up to date on the details of your relocation. Praying He'll bless you so sweetly in Costa Rica as He prepared you to serve Him in the desert.

Warm hugs.

Pat Thacker said...

And he will be there to meet you for he never fails and his love for you and your family is "Great"!!!!!!

Unknown said...

Oh my sweet and precious friend!

My heart leapt with such joy as I read your words today!

You know that my heart is crying out for the same desire and that together we will see Him provide the ram! He is our wonderful and awesome and mighty Savior! He is our Exceedingly Great Reward!

There is no other!

What He has for you is going to be more than you and Ryan could have ever dreamt for yourselves and family! I trust that with every fiber of my being. His plans are not ours nor are His thoughts and I praise Him for that.

I may not understand what He is asking of me and you don't understand fully what He is asking of you - but together in obedience one day, one moment, one step at a time we will soar above it all on the wings of our Father!

Our Abba, Father - who wants to bless us immeasurably with His love for us!

I'm ready and willing to jump off that cliff - knowing that the drop is right into His arms waiting to use me to the fullest of His desires!

Praying over you and sending many hugs! I love you Sarah Dawn! It is always a blessing splashin' with you!

Ok, my turn to share all of what God is asking me to do! I better find time to write the post and explain it all - hhhhmmm where is that going to come from? I'll wait for Him to fill me with His words!

I love you! Can't wait until you are back closer to me so we can have that tea and share some hugs!
Jill

Andrea said...

I, too am hanging on to HIS cloak!
Blessings and prayers, andrea

Mich said...

Praying for the blessings to pour down as you seek to follow Him...

Sarah said...

Sweet Sarah Dawn,

I was just reading about Abraham today and was so encouraged by his complete surrender to the will of God. He was willing to give his own son!! I had to ask myself, would I be so willing?

One thing that I do know--God is worthy of everything that He asks of us. His plans and His ways are perfect. His love is complete, holy and pure. We simply throw ourselves at His feet and we know that is the safest, most wonderful place to be.

Praying for you, dear sister.
Sarah

Debbie Petras said...

Sarah Dawn, for one so young you are gaining so much wisdom. I only wish I had been willing to be open to the Lord's guidance earlier in life. But we can't go back ...only forward.

I'm thankful that I found your blog. You are such an encourager even as you go through a future that may be unknown at the moment. But you are trusting the Lord and laying it ALL down before Him. He is your Provider. He is sovereign over all. And I know He will use you and your family for His purposes.

I'm just thankful to be able to come alongside you through our blogs and pray for you. May the Lord bless you abundantly, Sarah Dawn. Thank you for splashing on me too.

~ Lisa @ AbidingThere~ said...

The sweet faithfulness of God. I have seen Him provide when I thought there was no way. I am excited to watch how He continues to move in your lives in your new mission field. Praying for you. xo

Cherry Bedenkop said...

The Lord Provides!!

Sarah, this has a special meaning to me as I took this picture of Arenal, the most famous volcano in Costa Rica. Most of the time the top is covered with clouds. The evening before Josh had said the blessing in the restaurant. After thanking the Lord for the fun time, he asked, "Please let us see the top of the volcano tomorrow." I KNEW that wasn't going to happen, and was embarrassed to think that Josh might be disappointed. Few people get to see the top, especially that time of the year. Then the next morning at 6 am Josh and Papa were out on the porch and Josh came to tell me that they could see the top of the volcano!!! How could I doubt God??!! Oh woman of little faith!!!!! Thanks for the reminder!

Mom

Miss Janet said...

I was just teaching the kids at church tonight that by minding their parents/grandparents they are actually learning to listen to God.

You are living that out right now.

Janet

Daveda said...

It can be hard and a bit scary to step into the unfamiliar, but when we remember His great love for us, it makes it all turn to excitement for the wonderful things that must be ahead.

You are in my heart and prayers. I look forward to hearing the wonderful things that God does through you as you step foot onto a new mission field.

Tracy said...

While I'm sorry that you are leaving a country and a people that you love so much, I'm also eagerly awaiting seeing what God has in store for you. I imagine it's pretty big. Sending hugs and prayers!

Denise said...

God bless you sweetie.

Collette@Jesuslovesmums said...

Your words are so wise and you are so obedient! I am sure God has wonderful things in store for you all!
Collette xxx

Every Day Blessings said...

You are a wise young lady. I pray that you see God's omnipotent hand in every step of this journey!
Blessings!

Sharon said...

I heard Jentzen Franklin preach a message last week about Abraham taking his son up the mountain "to worship" with a knife in his hand. J.F. said sometimes we have to worship with a knife in our hand, cutting away things in obedience to God, so that He can be glorified in us, through our obedience (or something like that). When He provides, He is glorified.

Searching for God in the everyday said...

Your faith is inspiring...
Thank you for the challenge and encouragement your words bring to all who read them.
Sending prayers, Cory =)

Bernadine said...

Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. I'm happy to stop by and find such an encouraging and inspiring blog. I'll certainly stop back to visit.
God bless

Anonymous said...

So lovely to have found your blog! I will joyfully return.

Connie Arnold said...

How beautiful! Thank you for sharing this blessing. It is so wonderful when we can let go of our own will and take hold of God, following His will for our lives!

Karen said...

Loved this testimony...and your final line really brought the Holy Spirit goose bumps....

AtlantaMama said...

Oh my word. Are you sure you don't have a spy in Atlanta reading my journal?!! I SO NEEDED this today... this week... this month. TRUTH, TRUTH, TRUTH. Thank you. I'm clinging to the truth of His promises today.

Lisa Smith said...

Love the images you create here. He who is faithful will do it!!
Thanks for lettin me splash around with you today. May his faithfulness rain on you today.

Heirlooms For You said...

I am so glad you stopped my blog. And thank you for the kind words. I know how you feel when I lost my dear friend to breast cancer my pray was so child like but now I understand the Holy Spirits leading in it. It went, "Lord please let me be so close to you that when you turn around you bruise me." I kept saying it over and over and thought how silly. But now I love it! Please stop by any time. Iam going to follow yours. Carol

Alicia The Snowflake said...

Amen! What a beautiful post! Thank you for sharing that Godly wisdom to hold onto the hem of His garment. Thank you for the words that He will provide. May we never forget it. I pray the Lord blesses you in this new journey ahead as you lay down your dreams.

I'm so glad you splashed my way, so I could splash your way. It was nice to "meet" you!

Keystone said...

I have read the Abraham-Isaac encounter from everyone's point of view, over and over. It baffles me.

Were I Isaac thereafter, I would have trepidation each time Abraham sharpened a knife.

Were I Abraham thereafter, I would wonder what my son thought of me as his father, willing to splash his blood.

But humans possess something God does not---free will. It is likely to lead to trouble, for the lack of free will protects.

In marriage, two people mystically become ONE.
In the Trinity, three entities become ONE.

In Genesis, each time God made anything in creation, He pronounced the ending with "God saw that it was good."

But with Adam, "seeing it was good" was not true. Adam was lonely and needed a mate.
How did God know of loneliness until then?
His own Trinity provided relationship among the three. Loneliness was impossible.

But in creating a man, the hope was free will love.....toward His God. And it was not enough. Adam needed God with skin on, to touch, to feel, to smell, to care for. And God gave him his needs in Eve. That had to smart a little that Adam would be in a perfect Garden with God, and NOT have enough.

Once sin came on board, a holy God needed reconciled for there is no fellowship of perfect love and sin.

Abraham sacrificing Isaac was a father prepared to kill his first born son out of obedience.

I often read it as a question mark in God's mind, if HE would be able to create a Man-Son out of Christ, who always Was, Is, and Will Be, to be killed as a Redeemer, for free will choice gone awry.

I think that Abraham's dealing with Isaac right up to the moment of slicing his son, provided God the feeling, the answer, that although there would be no Ram in the thicket at Calvary, God the Father could do the same as Abraham....for what Abraham did, strengthened the Father that such an unimaginable calling was possible by man (albeit with final relief as promised).

Therefore, God could do the same at Calvary. We are made in His image; He is not made in our image. There is a difference.

We can not handle our own little body-worlds, let alone be privy to every thought every made, or be present at all places at all times.

"Jehovah-Jireh"----the Lord Provides (He has many names), was a prelude to Jehovah providing redemption, by taking the penalty for sin---death!---and carrying it out on Himself, through His son. Only a Saviour could do that.

The "Jireh", the "Provision or Substitute" would become Christ, not a Ram....and for all of us sinners. Awesome story!

MamaHen said...

Hi Sarah Dawn,

I saw your entry at my giveaway. Thanks for entering! If you have any homeschool questions please feel free to email me at clarksrfun@gmail.com. I love talking to newbie homeschoolers!

Chris said...

What an honor to have had one of God's true heroes comment on my blog! Thank you for your sacrifice and your service to the Kingdom!

Cynthia said...

Sarah Dawn

You are a most beautiful friend! You refresh and challenge me here and I join in chorus with you...I want to be intimate enough with Christ to grab the hem of his robe and be lost in the joy of being near Him.

Pom Pom said...

Hi Sarah Dawn,
Have you read (it sounds like you have) Praying the Names of God?
My husband is a missionary, too. He goes to Asian and European countries and connects with those who work with teenagers. I'm going to read further into your blog right now. Blessings, dear one.

Danielle said...

Sarah, thank you for stopping by my blog today... it touched my heart.

Just thinking of touching the hem of His garment, gets me all emotional. I picture the women with the blood issue and all that surrounds her as she presses in to touch... and O how I cry when He calls her 'Daughter'.

You words are inspiring and so open. Thanks for being so transparent!

He & Me + 3 said...

When God leads you in a direction He will provide you with the means to carry out His plan. Cling to His hem...no better place to be than at the feet of Jesus. Beautiful words written. Such an encouragement to drop by your blog!
Hugs,
Mimi

Genny said...

This was beautiful! I love how you said you are expecting with childlike faith His provision. Such a great example of faith!

Carisa said...

So excited for you!!!!

;) Carisa

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