April 7, 2008 Ration

Psalm 62:1-2

“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.”

Artist, God alone is your creator. God alone is your author. God alone is your justifier. God alone is your judge. God alone is your defense. God alone is your deliverer. God alone is holy. God alone can forgive a man of his sins. God alone answers to no one. God alone establishes the times and seasons. God alone sets up kings and tears down kings. God alone designed the laws of physics and how color, sound, material, and movement work and exist. God alone, by the word of His power, holds all things together this very moment. God alone designed the brain of a man, the skill of a man, and the expressive ability of a man. God alone sets the days of a man before one of them comes to be. God alone created everything out of nothing. God alone will be found true, though every man is found a liar. God alone has no beginning. God alone is from everlasting – to everlasting. God alone loves you with a completely pure, unadulterated, unreciprocated, unmerited, undeserving love. God alone portions out the purses of the world. God alone knows the future. God alone gives man his understanding. God alone gives man his position. God alone knows the true affections of your heart. God alone gives you faith. God alone has the power to change a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. God alone is God!

Artist, when you wonder, when you are perplexed, when you are anxious, when you are unsure, when you are needy, when you are despairing, when you are grieving, when you are in trouble, when you are stuck, when you are capsized, when you are besieged, when you are expressionless, when you are far to small for the dream, when you are overwhelmed, when markets fail, when friends are few, when preferences change, when new becomes old, when the culture moths consume, where does your soul go?

Follow David, he knows where to run! He says, “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken!”

And how does David’s soul run? It waits in silence. This is not the silence of sleep or sloth. This silence is the attentive, at-the-ready, patient, coiled positioning of the soul as it awaits the word of release from the Mastermind! Would you dare presume that you could advise God with your blabberous counsel? Pour out your heart’s need, indeed! This demonstrates that your hope is not resting in yourself. But, God needs no advice. The degree of your soul’s silence before Him evidences the maturity of your understanding of His power. Your soul’s silence before God demonstrates your heart’s faith in His ability. Your soul’s silence before God enables your ear to hear His delivering whisper. Your soul’s silence before God settles your eyes to behold Him as He passes by, in all of His veiled glory, as He works your deliverance.

Artist, a man is a mendacious hope for your artistic victory! A market is a mistaken hope for your artistic merit. A culture’s preference is an ersatz hope for your artistic relevance. You own ability is a crippled hope for your artistic creativity. Salability is a sunken hope for your artistic satisfaction. An audience’s affirmation is an artificial hope for your valuation. But God is a sure hope! For God alone is your victory, your merit, your relativity, your inspiration, your satisfaction, and your valuation.

Set your soul’s hope on none other than God, artist, and enjoy, with such great freedom, the inexpressible pleasures of God as He gives you artistic expression for the pleasure of groping to express such a pleasurable God!

Jason Harms

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