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.

Tears And Gratitude

 

Though we know that our broken souls
Have been restored by grace,
We’re still inclined to see the sin
Lingering in its place.
 
It’s not that we doubt we are saved,
But know we’re unworthy
Of the grace You’ve poured out for us,
The blood that sets us free.
 
We’ve lived so long chained to our sin,
It’s our habit to feel
That weight bearing down on our souls,
Though it’s no longer real.
 
We hear satan reminding us
Of all the ways we’ve failed,
That we deserve eternity
Hellishly bound and jailed.
 
It is with tears of gratitude
That I stop and recall
I am no longer stained by sin,
But redeemed before all.
 
I need to shift my focus from
Seeing the worst of me,
And fix it on my Savior ‘til
His glory’s all I see!
 
Romans 4:7-8
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
 
Colossians 1:13-14
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

His Word Is My Light

 

His Word is light upon my path,
Golden as dawn’s first glow,
And I’ll follow with faith filled heart
Where I am led to go.
 
I’ll rise up and I’ll start each day
Rejoicing in His light,
Then follow where His light leads me,
Even into the night.
 
For there is no darkness yet formed
That can subdue His light.
Even when buried in the tomb,
It burst forth with His might.
 
It shines its brightest in the dark,
For those lost on the way.
Though others may not see it there,
To me, it’s bright as day.
 
His Word is the eternal light
That leads us to His grace,
And I’ll keep walking ‘til I’m home,
Then rest in His embrace.
 
Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
 
Proverbs 4:18
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

A Glimpse of Insight

 

By Your command the mountains rose,
The rivers flowed in spate.
All the heavens gathered in awe
At what You would create.
 
Even today, I hold my breath
Amazed by such displays.
When I am soaring through the clouds,
Your works stun and amaze.
 
It was in recounting my awe
That I caught a brief view
Of something I’d not thought before,
As it applied to You.
 
I rode there in the cloud swept skies
Thinking man has come far,
That we now ride above the clouds.
What wonders we now are.
 
Until it hit me, Your design
Is what has brought us here.
You gave us minds that learn and grow
Because You hold us dear.
 
We are not close to Your power
Nor we will never be,
But You still give us glimpses of
The wondrous things You see.
 
You’ve marked each step that we will take
With echoes of Your grace
That we can hold onto until
The day we see Your face.
 
Romans 11:33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
 
Psalm 139:16
“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”