Taking Isaac up the mountain...

I've always struggled with being too independent. I take ownership of things, and I'd rather everyone else just get out of my way and allow me to do my thing. That's how I've succeeded. That's how I've produced. That's how things have been accomplished in my little world. And I take my responsibilities and accountabilities seriously. That's a good thing... but the over-independence and ownership causes problems with God.

Surrender is always hard. When you have something you like, or you are eyeing something you want, it's a pain in the tuckus to give it up.

I was having a wonderful conversation with a friend of mine the other night, as I'm pondering big changes in my life. I talked about my insecurities, concerns, and the changes that would be necessary. And he said to me, "You and Isaac are going to have to take a walk up the mountain..."

We spent some time talking about Genesis 22, when Abraham was called by God to sacrifice his only son Isaac to God. He took his son up the mountain, bound him, and just as he was about to swing the knife, an angel called to Abraham and stopped him. There are a few points that are significant in this story to consider...

• When God first called Abraham, he replied with, "Here I am!" He didn't say, "What?" or "Huh?", or text message "OMG!". He answered with a readiness for action. This is a man who loved to and was ready to do whatever God asked.
• Isaac was no boy. He was probably an adult at the time. He was the child of a miraculous birth, a child of promise. He was extremely valuable to Abraham from the start, and Abraham had been watching his boy grow up into something special for many years at that point. This represented the biggest sacrifice a man could make.
• Abraham never argued with God. All throughout the scriptures, we see prophets... PROPHETS!!!... like Moses, David, Jonah, men with huge assignments from God, verbally second guess the living God. Abraham kept his mouth shut and followed the Lord. When Isaac asked Abraham where the lamb for sacrifice was, Abraham simply replied that the Lord would provide.

It's not about doing something crazy for God. It's not even about the fact that God gave Isaac back to Abraham. It's about ownership. At the beginning of Genesis 22, it says that "God tested Abraham".

In Abraham's heart, to whom did Isaac belong? Was he Abraham's? Or was he God's?

Is God the highest priority in my life? Or is it my future? My financial security? My plans? My comfort? My familiar, daily routine? My friends, family, money, passions, job, or even the visions and promises of blessings I've received from God? Who's first?

God knows the blessings of this life will eventually compete with Him for supremacy in our hearts. They may even create such a sense of comfort that they will prevent us from seeing God's purposes in our lives. Most of those "Isaacs" are good things. But God may tell us to take Isaac up the mountain.

I've heard of, or watched, faithful men and women wrestle with God in prayer to finally surrender control in their hearts of their money, their kids, their spouse, their business, their homes, their time and energy, their plans for success...

I'm taking the success of my work up the mountain today. I'm taking my comfortable, secure, suburban existance up the mountain today. I may take a few friendships and relationships up the mountain today. I'm taking the familiar things in life up the mountain today. I'm taking financial security up the mountain today.

I'm not counting on the outcome of getting them all back after I just go through the motions... I'm surrendering all to follow the Lord, trusting that the Lord will provide.

Many of us need to take Isaac, or a few Isaacs, up the mountain. What is your Isaac?