Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart,
test me, and know my anxious thoughts,
point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
During worship at our last Sunday Celebration, there was a line from one of our songs that stuck out to me. It says, “every mountain moves, with a word from you.” The whole idea of mountains moving at the word of God reminds me of creation in Genesis 1. God created the light, and separated the sea from the sky, all by speaking it into being–mountains were literally created and moved at the command of God’s voice. It’s humbling to think that the same God that spoke the world into being, also wants to speak to us personally!
Do we have mountains in our lives that we need God to move? To me, mountains are those situations or circumstances that seem unmovable. Are there things about us or our relationships that seem like they will never change? Are there difficult patterns in our lives that seem like they will never shift? God is able and willing to move these mountains. But God wants us to take part in this too. God wants us to hear his voice, and be willing to obey and follow him. Another way to say this–God wants us to listen to him well, and obey quickly.
Abraham is a model example of what it means to listen well and obey quickly. Genesis 22 tells the story of Abraham and Isaac. God calls out to Abraham and asks him to take his son Isaac and give him up as an offering to God. Abraham obeys–he travels with Isaac to the place God tells him, prepares Isaac as an offering, and is almost about to sacrifice Isaac. But at the very last second, God steps in and tells Abraham to stop. In Genesis 22:16-18, God says about this whole event, “because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you,” and “through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
Abraham listened well, and obeyed quickly. He was willing to give up his son as a sacrifice to God. What God really wanted and needed was Abraham’s willingness and obedience. In fact, God didn’t need or want Isaac as a sacrificed offering at all–what God really wanted was Abraham’s willingness and obedience!
Do we have that same willingness and obedience in our hearts? At the beginning of the year, our first memory verse was Psalm 139:23-24. What I love about this verse is that it really expresses the heart of what it means to be willing and obedient to God. Being willing and obedient is often about being open and asking God to search our hearts, test us, point out anything in us that offends him, and lead us on better paths in our life.
I encourage you to pray this verse, or even memorize it if you haven’t already! It captures a big part of what it means to listen well, and obey quickly. And remember the story of Abraham. It was through Abraham’s obedience that God worked in powerful ways. And it can be the same for us. LIke the song says, every mountain moves, with a word from you. God can and will move those mountains in our lives. God needs and wants our willingness and obedience in it.
So let’s continue to make every effort to be obedient to God. Let’s pray Psalm 139:23-24 and ask God to search us. Like we learned from Abraham’s story, it is through small acts of obedience that mountains move.