WAIT by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate….
And the Master so gently said, “WAIT.”

“WAIT? You say WAIT?” My indignant reply,

“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is Your hand shortened? 
Or have You not heard?”
By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming Your Word.

My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance and You tell me to “WAIT?”
I’m needing a ‘yes’, and go-ahead sign.
Or even a ‘no’, to which I’ll resign.

You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
I’m weary of asking! I need a reply.

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate

As my Master replied again, “WAIT.”
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting…. For what?”

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine…

And tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause the mountains to run.

I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.

You’d have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.
You’d not know the depth of My love for each Saint.
You’d not know the Power that I give to the faint.

You’d not learn to see through the clouds of despair;

You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me.
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

You’d never experience the fullness of love.

When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late in the night,

The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

You’d never know should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But oh, the loss if I lost what I’m doing in you.

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see.

That the greatest of gifts is to truly know Me.
And through oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, “WAIT.”

My Old Bible

   
My Old Bible
 
Though the cover is worn,
and the pages are torn,
And though places bear traces of tears,
Yet more precious than gold
Is this Book worn and old,
That can shatter and scatter my fears.
 
This old Book is my guide,
Tis a friend by my side,
It will lighten and brighten my way;
And each promise I find
Soothes and gladdens the mind,
As I read it and heed it each day.
 
To this Book I will cling,
Of its worth I will sing,
Though great losses and crosses be mine;
For I cannot despair,
Though surrounded by care,
While possessing this blessing Divine.
 
Unknown author
 

Less Like Scars by Sara Groves

It's been a hard year
But I'm climbing out of the rubble
These lessons are hard
Healing changes are subtle
But every day it's

Less like tearing, more like building
Less like captive, more like willing
Less like breakdown, more like surrender
Less like haunting, more like remember

Less like a prison, more like my room
It's less like a casket, more like a womb
Less like dying, more like transcending
Less like fear, less like an ending

And I feel you here
And you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
It seemed out of my hands, a bad situation
But you are able
And in your hands the pain and hurt
Look less like scars and more like
Character

By Sara Groves from the album All Right Here