Works Of A Wordsmith

It seems we are content
With the things we can
Hear and see and touch
Over the life of Your Spirit.
We think of You as distant—
Someone to pray to from afar
Rather than the Unseen Real,
More Substantial Being
Standing right in front of us.
If only we could let go of
This temporary world,
Open the eyes of our heart, and
Reach for You in return.
Your glory is already here, Jesus.
If only we could truly see…

As He spoke, His words pierced us
Like arrows at the speed of thought.
When we could not sit nearby,
His voice still echoed in our ears
Like distant thunder, but clear as lightning,
With authority we had never heard before.
His message changed us…

Even those of us who later walked away
Could not deny His impact.
We were as children then,
Desiring immediate deliverance
Without understanding the deeper need
For eternal redemption.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” He said…
And we were truly poor in spirit—
Sheep without a shepherd,
Wandering in the wilderness—
So He gave us spiritual manna,
Words proceeding from the mouth of God
Feeding us a life we did not recognize
Till much, much later.

For some of us,
It was a real beginning,
A tilling of our heart’s soil
So we could receive more…
After…
(From His nail-pierced hands.)

In the moment, however,
We sat listening,
Arrested by incomprehensible awe
As the Rabbi from Galilee
Poured out the heart of our God,
Longing for us, His people.

Your unrelenting love for us, Your children,
Leads us past the cares and fears we face
Till all that we desire is to find refuge
In loving arms that give eternal grace.

Those of us who wander far from home
Still seek something we cannot define.
Your Spirit draws us though we do not now
That You, our Father, cannot but be kind.

So, restlessly we cry out for a mercy
Beyond all that our minds can understand
Until one day we wake from unknown slumber
To recognize the offer from Your hand.

You lift us from the depths of our own darkness
Bringing us into eternal light.
You give us strength when we are at our weakest
To choose Your grace and will to do what’s right.

O Holy God, we come on bended knee,
Acknowledging the gift of Your own Son,
Who laid His life down with eternal love
To raise us up again and bring us home.

It’s such a hard thing
Knowing when it’s time
To acknowledge there’s no way…
There’s just no way
I can ever, ever, EVER
Accomplish this thing.
I try and I try and I try, but
No matter how hard,
No matter how often,
No matter how long
I beat my head against my private wall of frustration,
I have made little progress.

Oh, Grace,
Thou wholly transforming power
That offers entrance to God’s presence,
But dost not leave us in our
State of basic unworthiness,
In thy holy goodness,
Thou truly art amazing!
Thou art all of Who God is
In one great act of glory,
Offering the path of peace
By an exchange of selfish desires
For selfless, humble gratitude.
In all that you give—
Thy blood-bought atonement
Covering all our inborn sin nature—
Thou yet demandest willing sacrifice,
Simultaneously giving us strength
To lay all aside and trust Thee
In complete surrender.
Thou art the Breath of God
Breathing new life through us!
Oh, Grace,
Thou Spirit of holiness in us,
Let us recognize, once more,
All of Who you are—
Awesome, glorious God of wonder!

Wake us up, Lord!
Let the wonder of Your grace
Wash through us,
Opening our eyes to You,
To Your reality around us.

Holy God,
We want to see beyond our fears,
Beyond our finite ideas of
Who You are and how You work.

Holy Spirit,
Sensitize us beneath our skin,
In our spirits…
Help us to have
A deeper awareness of You.

Lord Jesus,
Take us to Your cross again
To lay down our lives at Your feet
That we may rise
In the newness of Your life…
Your life living through us
For Your glory and honor—
No longer us for ourselves.

Lord God,
Creator of heaven and earth,
Be…
(Oh, great I AM!)
…In us
…Around us
…Through us.

In all of the turbulence here in my life,
In the midst of the storms that caused me such strife,
I’ve learned I can stand with my face to the wind,
Eyes closed and hands raised with my heart fixed on Him.
For beneath the tempestuous bluster I’ve found
A fierce joy of living that just wraps me around,
Filling me, lifting me, giving me wings
Till I’m flying above insignificant things,
But it’s only the tempest that gives me the might.
Without any struggles, I wouldn’t have flight.
Because of this lesson, my trials become friends—
Helping me trust all that Father intends.
Jesus, please help me submit to Your hand,
So Your image is formed in my life as You’ve planned.

Heb 12:7; 2 Cor 3:18

It’s great to know, God,
That it’s all about You, You, You!
You make all things good
In me, in us, in all You do.
Through the fire and flood
We glorify Your name and
You bring us out purified, washed clean
By the very trials we wept through.
There is no name like Your name,
Because there is no god like You, God!
So, I come back to Your goodness again
And rejoice that it really is
ALL about You!

Let Your waves…
Let Your mighty waves
Wash over me, Lord of Hosts.
Let Your wings…
Let Your mighty wings
Lift me up to You, Holy Lord of Hosts.

Fill me up with You.
Overshadow me
So that everyone around
Will know that You are God!

Make Your presence…
Make Your mighty presence
Known here in this place, Lord.
Make Your glory…
Make Your mighty glory
Shine brighter than the sun, Lord.

Sometimes I need to just be and not do.
Wash through my heart, clearing out all the strife.
Help me, Lord God, fix my eyes upon You.
Teach me to know all You are in my life.

I want to rest in Your goodness, O God.
Open my eyes to Your glory and grace.
Help me let go when it seems I cannot.
Lord, let me trust in the light of Your face.