Turn Back From Pride

 

Oh, you who live with prideful hearts,
Disdaining one and all,
Be cautious that self-righteousness
Does not cause your downfall.
 
Yours isn’t the voice in command,
Despite what you hold true,
And many on whom you look down
See false pretense in you.
 
Turn back from your self-worship, child,
And turn instead to Him
Whose hand has formed what you deem yours,
Even to heaven’s rim.
 
Be careful that your pride does not
Lead you too far astray.
For there will be a reckoning
To which we’re called one day.  
 
Don’t let a prideful heart destroy
All that His grace provides,
But live in humble gratitude
That His grace still abides.
 
The choice is yours, by His decree,
But please remember this,
There’s only one Lord over all.
Your pride you must dismiss.
 
Obadiah 3-4
The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord.
 
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Finding His Peace

 

In times of sorrow or of stress,
May your soul seek His peace.
When life is too busy to think,
May your soul seek His peace.
 
It is in Him, true peace is found,
And He gives it to all
Who turn to Him and call to Him.
He will answer that call.
 
The world may still be turbulent,
The storms may still roll through,
But you’ll face them with peace and joy,
For He’ll give that to you.
 
He is the strength, the hope you need,
In Him they both abound.
Yet, even more, He is the source
Where peace and joy are found.
 
So, when life’s outside your control
And troubles will not cease,
Then turn your heart to Him and know
Your soul will find His peace.
 
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Being Strong And Courageous

Getting up and stepping out
Would be too hard to do
Without knowing that where I go,
I’ll be going with You.
 
I’m not sure I could rise and go,
As I did in my youth,
Without having You next to me,
An embarrassing truth.
 
The road can be long and quite rough,
When faith calls us to go,
But it is easier to walk
A path I know You know.
 
Lord, I have called upon Your name
To guard and lead me through
Too many times for me to count,
But I can count on You.
 
So, if you tell me to get up
And go do as You’ve asked,
I’ll get up and step out to do
That with which I’ve been tasked.
 
I’ll face all of the things I fear,
And take them all in stride,
But only because You’ve promised
You’ll be right by my side.
 
Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
 
2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against evil. 

His Light Shines Through

“The night is coming,” said the Lord,
Knowing what was to be.
Yet, knowing, too, how much this earth
Needed His light to see,
He set His light to shine on through
In folks like you and me.  
 
It cannot shine in us quite like
It shone when He was here,
But still, we can reflect His light
To others, far and near,
Who remain trapped within the dark,
With all its pain and fear.
 
Those who walk with Him in this world,
Take up His light and shine.
Reach out to those who don’t know Him,
For that was His design,
That they, too, may come to live in
His light, pure and divine.
 
As long as He was in the world,
His light shone bright and true.
Even now, living in the night,
You’ll see Him shining through,
And, from each heart that calls Him Lord,
He’s reaching out to you.
 
John 9:4-5
We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
 
John 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

My Eyes Are Fixed On Him

 

Let me keep my eyes on the Lord,
Not on what this world’s planned.
For there is nothing in this life
Greater than His command.
 
I’ve been known to let my gaze drift
Beyond His call to me
Only to find it fixed upon
Places it need not be.
 
I don’t need to fix my heart on
The treasures of this earth,
When His grace offers more to me
Than all of this world’s worth.
 
Because I’ve kept my eyes on Him
And trusted in His will,
He has poured His grace out on me,
And it keeps flowing still.
 
So, I’ll keep my eyes fixed on Him,
My heart fixed on His Word,
And I’ll keep my feet on His path,
Walking it undeterred.
 
Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
 
Colossians 3:1-2
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Blessed With Rest

This is the day the Lord has made,
He made it just for me.
For it contains all that I need
To be still gratefully.
 
No place to go, no chores undone,
Nobody dropping by.
Just Him and me, a cup of tea,
And a thunderstorm sky.
 
The lullaby of rumbling clouds,
Leftovers warming up.
His Word reminds me that my life’s
An overflowing cup.
 
Tomorrow will be busier,
This week holds a fast pace,
But for today I can be still
And rest within His grace.
 
Psalm 118:24
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
 
Psalm 23:5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 

Creation And The Creator

 

Your creation, in its glory,
Can take my breath away.
From mountain peaks to ocean depths,
I’m awed by its display.
 
From tiny bees to elephants
And everything between,
There’s more than I can comprehend,
Much more than I have seen.
 
Yet, when I stand in deepest awe
Of what I most adore,
It isn’t Your creation, Lord,
It is the Creator.
 
You are the Lord, the only God,
The creator of all.
For life was without light or form
Until it heard Your call.
 
You were the first, You called to life
All that my eyes can see.
You filled the earth with a small glimpse
Of Your vast majesty.
 
Yet, even that was not enough.
What we broke, You made whole
By giving us the redemption
That heals a damaged soul.
 
There is one Lord, one God on high,
That fact I know is true.
You were the first, You’ll be the last,
And I’m in awe of You.
 
Genesis 1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
 
Isaiah 44:6
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

The Lord Watches Over Us

We do all that we can in life,
We work, worry and pray,
But His plans supersede our own
At the end of the day.
 
We lay the patterns of our lives,
Yet, despite every plan,
His is the final say in all
The paths of mortal man.
 
How blessed are we that He keeps watch
Over those who love Him,
And more so that the plans He’s laid
For us are rich, not grim.
 
They are not always what we’ve planned,
But they are made to bless
Those who call upon Him as Lord,
Through good times or distress.
 
We make our plans, then trust in His,
Knowing that what we do
Will never prosper without Him
To guard and lead us through.
 
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
 
Psalm 127:1
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 

The Desire Of My Heart

 

Noise and unneeded distractions
Keep getting in my way.
The things that my mind trips over,
They’re a part of each day.
That’s why, when each day gets too loud,
I try to slip away.
 
I could go sit within the woods,
Nestled beneath a tree,
Or seek the silence of the shore
Beside the wind-swept sea.
Yet, my preference is that old barn,
Where I can just be me.
 
It’s surprising how much silence
I find where horses graze,
beneath a blue sky, on green fields
That stretch beyond my gaze
Into the stillness and the peace
That my soul seeks most days.
 
I’ve wandered far in this life, Lord,
And found You’re everywhere,
But there beside that old red barn
I find my answered prayer.
In safe pastures and perfect peace,
Lord, I can hear You there.  
 
That’s all I look for in most days,
The chance to hear Your voice,
And step beyond the distractions,
Just be still and rejoice.
 
Psalm 37:3-4
Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and find safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Grounded In Him

 

The world is filled with so much rage
That rushes in at me,
And I must stay above the waves
Or be lost in that sea.
 
I see the evil frothing there
And hear it call my name,
Demanding that I wade on in
To share its wrath and shame.
 
If I keep my eyes on the waves,
I tend to drift down near,
But if I keep my thoughts on Him,
His peace is all I hear.
 
I struggle with anger, some days,
No matter how I try,
But I hold to His strength, not mine,
And let it wash on by.
 
When I fear I might let Him down
And give in just once more,
He leads me back from the tempest,
Farther up onto shore.
 
His is the hand to which I cling,
His is the strength I need.
His is the peace that turns the tide,
And assures I succeed.  
 
I walk upon that windswept shore
And watch the rage roll in.
If I were not grounded in Him,
I would be drowned in sin.
 
Isaiah 41:10
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
 
Isaiah 26:3
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.