January 12, 2009 Ration

Genesis 22:14

“So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided! What a confidence! The mount is the Lord’s. The difficult hill of surrender is the Lord’s. The testing is the Lord’s. The work of humbling is the Lord’s. The faith given to obey is the Lord’s. The timing is the Lord’s. The purpose is the Lord’s. And the provision is also the Lord’s!

Artists, we need the faith of Abraham: The faith that moves when the Lord says, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (22:2). We need the faith to begin on the venture whose destination is not yet completely clear. We need the faith that trusts in a God who raises the dead. We need the faith that binds, surrenders, and purposes to sever a previous gift of the Lord if He so directs. We need the faith not to stumble over what seems to be an impediment to our realization of the Lord’s promised blessing. The Lord is His own greatest blessing! And He shares the riches of Himself with those who love Him above all that He may give.

The Lord’s mount is where the Lord provides.

The Lord provided Abraham with everything he needed to make the sacrifice He required: the slaying of his affections for anything that would be potentially greater than his affections for God. The wood, the fire, the knife, and the son were all provided that day to serve this test of heart. This sacrifice would demonstrate which affection is greatest. And when the fear of the Lord was proven to be Abraham’s greatest love, the sacrificing was complete – but not finished.

The second provision of the Lord now emerges: the fellowship that God grants to those who fear Him. If Abraham had not sacrificed, in essence, his own heart through his son, he would not have known this provision. God provides the opportunity for greater fellowship with Him in the testing of heart, and God provides the means to receive such a grace through proven faith. Far more than a ram for burnt offering was the Lord’s provision of a ram that day.

We have to be full of faith in God, artists. Let us not look to the mounts of the world for our provision. The Lord will provide for what He bids us to do. Ours is to be faithful, to be persevering, to be patient, to be prepared, to be ready to surrender back to the Lord that which He gives, to desire fellowship with Him above all other desires. Whatever mount the Lord calls us to in the arts or otherwise, it is His mount. And it is on His mount that He will provide.

“On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Jason Harms

_________________________________________________________________