Photo by Mark Koch on Unsplash

"O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!" – Isaiah 40:9

I have always been inspired by mountains.

Whether I am gazing from afar or in them, they elevate me. They call out something within me. They take my breath away. Mountains remind me of my smallness and God’s greatness. They evoke awe and invoke the presence of the One who crafted them.

In the mountains, the air is cleaner, and the view is clearer.

It is no wonder that God chose a mountain, Mount Zion, for His temple among the Jews. He chose a mountain to meet Moses. He chose a mountain from which to give His law. Jesus chose mountains to pray. Even His final hours before His arrest were spent on the Mount of Olives. It was on a mountain that He was transfigured and from a mountain that He ascended into Heaven.

Mt. Ararat, in Genesis 8, is where the ark came to rest. It was from there that the first rainbow appeared. At Mount Moriah, Abraham encountered God as a provider and faithful Father when called to sacrifice Isaac. Mount Sinai, Mount, Pisgah, Mount Carmel, and Mount Herman all have stories attached.

Our response to mountains is the same call for any place on earth. It is to meet God there as our spiritual ancestors did. Even if you live in the vast plains, you can do that. You can come to the Mountain of God.

"And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." – Isaiah 2:3