At our evening family prayer time we read a poem on the theme of God the Provider.

God watches closely and provides fully.

It’s easy to lose hope and think that there is no none there to help. Noel Gurung’s poem reflects on the biblical story. In this story, God asks Abraham to sacrifice his one and only god-given son.

We reflected on how Abraham as a father may have felt. He woke up that morning knowing he was going to obey and do what he didn’t want to do. Was this experience a glimpse into the heart of God the Father? Perhaps.

Ultimately Abraham didn’t have to sacrifice Isaac, his son. God provided a ram. But years later, God the Father provided his son, Jesus Christ. Being coequal with God, Jesus was a worthy sacrifice. This served as an atonement for the sins of the world.

What struck me in the poem however was the line that referred to how foolish the ways of god might seem to those who do not know or understand the father’s heart.

The take away for me is that when God calls us to do something for God, we must persist in doing it. It looks foolish to those who can’t or do not see the whole picture. The father will not ask of us what we can’t give. And what the father wants has ready been given.

I reflected on why I gave up my career in music. My goal was to study theology; but really, I wanted to share God’s love with others. It does seem foolish. But now somehow I feel that that was a very small price to pay for what I receive in return—a new heart and spirit, a fresh everlasting and pure love each day and every moment—the gift to carry and share the greatest love of all with everyone. This is now the renewed context and underlying drive for my music. It was never a career, but a calling. That is a crucial difference. From a utilitarian viewpoint, we are as good as people think we are. Alternatively, we are as good as what the economy needs at any given point of time. But when we make our so-called career decisions based on our innate creative calling, the focus shifts. It becomes a matter of properly stewarding our creator-designed personalities and gifts. We align them with the creator’s calling and design for the world at large.

Now, I journey in that hope. In the words of Ethan Linder, an author and pastor, and more importantly, a colleague and friend, the journey up “the mountain of the Lord” (metaphorically, the journey that we choose to take in obedience to God when called to sacrifice what we think is most precious to us) is an opportunity to:

1. Reevaluate what strength looks like—no longer mine, but how does it feel to rely on God’s strength
2. Rethink what to do with enemies —rather than hoping for the worst for them, now we can find solace that all of us are not getting what we deserve (we like our enemies are beneficiaries of the mercy of God)
3. Rediscover what God is calling us to—self emptying vs self improvement.

Here is the beginning of innovation activating hope.