My Thirsty Soul

As man in a desert requires water
So does my soul thirst after You, Lord.
When my heart cries for you in my pain,
Your Spirit falls on me as fresh Spring rain.

As man’s body is weak without sustenance,
So does my soul hunger for You, Lord.
When I feel life’s travail a worthless toil
You come to me and renew me again.

As man seeks to find his life’s pleasures
So I determine to find my joy in You, Lord.
Your songs thrill me and lighten my load
As nothing else can in this journey I walk.

As man thinks first of himself in life’s troubles
So often I selfishly neglect You, Lord.
Rather than making you my central vision
I set you up at the periphery of my life.

As man realizes life is not happenstance
So happy I am learning early of You, Lord.
For he who thinks there is nothing more to life
Is as the prophets say a foolish man.

As man tends to search for meaning in life
So I search out my purpose in You, Lord.
For without You life is an empty void,
But with You my pathway is planned ahead.

As man sees day quickly turn into night
So I in all of my travail I run to You, Lord.
And as sun shines on each fresh new day
Once again I feel the warmth of Your breath on me.

As man turns his head away in distraction
So before me I choose to see only You, Lord.
For if my focus can remain solidly upon You.
The attractions of this world will not entice me away.

As my relationship grows with Your guidance,
So my troubles are left at the lichgate for You, Lord.
For I am weak in myself and easily swayed,
And I need to know I am following Your way.

As I get older I dream of You so often.
And I dream of a bridegroom some day, You Lord,
Death holds no fear for me now, no worry.
And Heaven’s door appears open in welcome.

Who Are You Fooling?

Just what do you think you are doing,
Walking on both sides of the fence?
You think you have everyone fooled,
But the one you are cheating is you!

You are wearing a two-sided mask,
Interchanging it freely at will.
That voice you are ignoring inside
One day will eventually be still.

You say that you believe in God,
But the devil believes and trembles.
You’re so trained in your own facade
Even you don’t know who you are.

You’ve been the driver of life thus far
Changing gears when whomever you meet.
So subtle you’ve become in your deceit,
Only God knows who truly you are!

God knows the road you are travelling,
And He sees the inner works of your heart.
Isn’t it time that you stopped pretending,
And give to Him all of your heart?

Peace you will know beyond measure,
Once you take that mask off for good.
Having firm trust in the Supreme Being
Brings joy this world can’t impart.

The Why Within You

You fuss and you fret and you question the reason why
Things are so out of control, and so to God you cry.
When in such despair and you don’t know what to do,
And the question ‘why’ is reaping torment upon you.
Who is running your life, and what is managing you?

What is disturbing you and frustrating you so?
Are the trials of this world bringing you down low?
And why do you flit around like a moth to the light
That will burn you up before it becomes night?
Are the world’s expectations just too hard for you?

When you turned your ownership papers over to Him
Can you truthfully say that you confessed your sin?
Did you relinquish control as He cleansed you within?
If life’s twists and turns are sending you into a spin,
Something is amiss, just what is troubling you?

Sometimes God allows all the confusions in your days
To give strength and teach lessons meant to mend ways.
Time to re-evaluate what is so easily frustrating you,
Things are out of place, His message not getting through.
Stress is merely the indicator of a poor point of view.

We need to release the “why’s” to the Physician’s control.
What troubles the mind also affects the body and soul.
How can the struggle of inner conflict keep you whole?
Christ came and died to cleanse us all and set us free,
From the sin of fret and worry that sore troubles Thee.

A Work in Progress

I present myself to Him, confession finished, a work in progress.
Waiting upon my knees I sense God’s Spirit falling upon me,
Like a fine gossamer film, encasing me, filling me with His love.
Not a vision, a presence, a fragrance that permeates my being.

I sing, in my tuneless voice, tears spilling freely down my face.
Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me I then humbly pray.
He that giveth to all men freely if we but stop, seek, and ask.
And I wait in quietness of spirit, my hands and mind open,

Cleared of the detritus of a daily accumulated scattered mind
Focused now on Him and Him alone my breathing settles.
Though my singing voice is out of tune I am in tune with Him.
I am bubbling over with praise for all that He has done for me.

I first think of all the things I want Him to do for me, and yet
How dare I complain when all around me suffering abounds?
Did I expect when surrendering my life to Him a pain-free road?
He promised strength for today; to need strength means work ahead.

"Take my yoke upon you for my burden is light", but undoubtedly there.
To think I am an exception to life’s tribulations would not be fair.
The saying means much, meat is always sweeter closer to the bone".
It tells me that suffering draws me closer to God and blesses me.

I’d rather be empty of pocket and able to sit unblemished at Jesus’ feet.
They say that he who has a heart for God has sacrificed it on the altar
Surrendering pride and endeavoring to lay down the ego of self.
Only to be what He wants me to be every moment of every day.

Pride has no place in the seeker’s life, lay it down at Jesus’ feet.
You know in the sojourner’s life this is but a temporary abode.
If you feel comfortable, you know the Devil has wielded a blow,
He delivers his arrow right through your unprepared, weak feet.

Without the boots of God’s armor we bring about our defeat.
Small, vulnerable, yet so essential to be able to stand on our feet
I’d rather be close to Jesus, wrapped in his spirit resting in Him.
To be girded with truth, filled with His Spirit, prepared to meet
Any obstacle that stands in my path throughout this coming day.

Worry

Like a single-celled amoeba multiplying, demanding more.
Time wasted in a gerbil wheel whirling around on the floor.
It permeates your mind capturing each and every thought,
Holding it for ransom as your mind spins all for nought.

Fingering worry beads will not alleviate your ceaseless fretting,
You cannot tie up your worries in a bag made out of netting.
When worries inhabit your head God cannot feed your soul
Scattered minds allow no Godly focus for Him to make you whole.

Priorities not aligned with God’s and they are overwhelming you.
Until finally in desperation you cry out to God to see you through.
Remembering the times before on His promises you’d laid claim
You bowed your head in shame and wept reiterating His name.

Our God is faithful, and He is love, and He supplies our need.
And all that worry and fretting does it to give the Devil heed.
Worry is one of the Devil’s tools to keep you pre-occupied
When you gave your life to Christ that worry should have died.
Being secure in Him is allowing Him to be your guide.

Casting all your cares upon Him is the way it ought to be
It is the only way you can walk this life and finally be free.
If God is on the throne of your life Your burdens should be light,
And He will win the battle of worry if you let Him be your sight.
　

The Mask

A changing mosaic, the mystery of you.
Only God can unmask and see what is true.
You can change the moods written clearly on your face,
But to change your heart needs a measure of God’s Grace.

Through the mirror I see a foggy measure of me,
But this is not what I want God, or you to see.

Through the mirror runs veins of weak faults I know,
Silvered poor reflections thwart my desire to grow.

I retire behind my mask endeavoring to hide
The true picture of me that lives down deep inside.

A changing mosaic, the mystery of you.
Only God can unmask and see what is true.
You can change the moods written clearly on your face,
But to change your heart needs a measure of God’s Grace.

I want to make my Father proud of the work I’ve done in me.
But alas His words again come back and will not let me be

I have worked hard to rise above the gratification of me
My works are all in vain for it was Jesus who set me free.

I work because His love has taken up residence inside
There is no need to wear a mask and even attempt to hide.

A changing mosaic, the mystery of you.
Only God can unmask and see what is true.
You can change the moods written clearly on your face,
But to change your heart needs a measure of God’s Grace.

I want to take off this mask that causes me such pain.
And be made alive in the truth that is me once again.

Determined that for all time a charade I will not be,
And lay hold to the Christ whose love has set me free.

Without the mask there will be no need to put on a show,
For the genuine me will be clearly the only one to know.

A changing mosaic, the mystery of you.
Only God can unmask and see what is true.
You can change the moods written clearly on your face,
But to change your heart needs a measure of God’s Grace.

The Way to God

If my days were untroubled
and my heart always light
Would I seek that fair land
Where there is no night?

If I never grew weary
with the weight of my load
Would I search for God’s Peace
at the end of the road?

If I never knew sickness
and never felt pain
Would I reach for a hand
to help and sustain?

If I walked not with sorrow
and lived without loss
Would my soul seek sweet solace
at the foot of the cross?

If all I desired was mine
day by day
Would I kneel before God
and earnestly pray?

If God sent no “Winter”
to freeze me with fear
Would I yearn for the warmth
of “Spring” every year?

I ask myself this
and the answer is plain,
If my life were all pleasure
and I never knew pain

I’d seek God less often
and need Him much less,
For God’s sought more often
in times of distress.

And no one knows God
or sees Him as plain
As those who have met Him
In the “Schoolroom of Pain”.