Be Still, My Soul

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

The way

When old things pass on
And new things take their place
When today is yesterday
And tomorrow awaits

A new life, the next story
Adventures, they await
But the old things are calling
Holding on makes me late

A tough choice, a chance to fail
No safety in place
To go on and prevail
Or stop, fear, doubt and hate

Onward, onward; no ending in sight
Mountains lie ahead
Another day, another night
Another day, another night

I can't make it up; the way is too hard
Up is so steep, too long, too high
I will slip, I will fail, I can't make it that far
Every day, every second , I fear I will die

None will protect me
None show the way
I'm in this alone
Alone I will stay

I declare yet my power
I go now forward strong
I stop and I turn back
That was too long

Yet I persist, because yes I can
I can do it myself
Please give back my hand

I don't want your help
I'm not afraid
Wait, what's that there?
That's not what I said!

How I wish I had company
So brave and so strong
To guide me and teach me
On this journey so long

I am now lost
Not finding my way
I declared my power
And sent all away

But come back and guide me
Don't let me stay here
Come back so I see
The path so unclear

Aha, before me
It is now here
Leave me alone now
For naught do I fear

Such onward I go
Not knowing my path
Great circles I am making
And progress I lack

One day in a Dream

When I woke, He was sitting before me, the Lord of all of heaven and earth. He sat in His judgement seat, looking through me with sight that pierced me through and understood in a moment all things.

I was somewhere on the ground, seeking only to hide my face in the dirt, but not finding any with which to cover myself.

He turned to my Conscience, standing as witness, and asked, "I have seen the sin which lines the heart of this man, the wrongs which he has perpetrated against me and against his brethren. What further contribution will you provide?"

And my Conscience said, "Great Lord, I have nothing I may add to the account of the accused upon the subject of his sin; he did commit these acts willfully against You and his brethren and by your laws he deserves the perfect punishment you have provided."

Then He turned to me and asked, "Why have you committed these acts of treason, murder, hate, sexual immorality, idolatry, covetousness, thievery, malice, unfaithfulness, deceit and pride?"

Terrified in His holy presence I cried out to Him, "Great Lord, I have no excuse and no justification; I am not as good as dust in your sight. I committed these acts willfully and purposefully in your sight, in my pride. I am not worthy of any good thing, and am very much deserving of the punishment you have prepared. Please forgive me, and send me to the place of judgement so that I may not corrupt Your holy places any longer with my presence."

Then The King said, "For these crimes, even all that you have done -- that which you have considered wholesome in your sight and also that which you have conceived in your heart, the evil you have planned against Me, even Me, the God of Heaven, and for all the things which you have purposed to do in order to justify and save yourself -- you are deserving of Death. You have provoked My wrath and the anger of My heart which conceived of and brought you forth and also loved you with an intensity known by no other and intended for no other purpose than to make you mighty in My Spirit. But you have rejected Me and taken, instead, the lie of my enemy and done according to the lusts of your flesh and the delights of your eye. I hereby sentence you to Eternal Damnation, the perfect punishment I have provided for the devil and his angels, and also you who hardened your heart against Me. With this sentence shall the price of your sin be paid and justice served."

Then, before the gavel of the Great One fell, I saw at His right hand a Shining One. And He stepped forward saying, "Father, I have loved this one and he is precious in My sight, only let your wrath be spared him and turned instead upon me. I have done no wrong, nor said evil of anyone. I have taken the body which you didst provide for Me and used it according to the delights of Your heart and the pleasure of Your eye and for the will of Your Spirit. In this body I have demonstrated your character and purpose to all of mankind, both past and present and future. And with my perfect Life I will go before this fallen son and present myself to you as the perfect replacement, the one who may bear your perfect judgement and take the shame of his sin onto Myself. Please let it be done to me as I have said, for I love and yet may save him."

And the Great God looked upon the shining One, who was Jesus, the Son of the One in whom is all Life, and said unto him, "This is good in my sight. Let all of the sin from the corrupt heart of this fallen one be placed upon You, My Son, and let it be paid in full. I am pleased to execute My justice upon you, crushing you, in the stead of this unworthy sinner. He will be clean because of You and your service to Me."

Then the mighty gavel was loosed and came down in judgement, and justice was executed, not upon me, the deserving one, but upon this perfect Son of Deity. Then the blood of the Son of God was spilled out as I watched, and it flowed over me and washed over me; I closed my eyes, unable to grasp what had just happened. And when it was done according to the Word of the LORD, the Shining one said, "It is finished."

When my eyes were opened, overflowing with the tears I had wept from the sight I had just witnessed, I saw before me the new heaven and the new earth which had been promised of old, and it was more magnificent then my fallen eyes could comprehend. But as I looked, I did comprehend. For as He wiped the tears from my eyes, He also lifted the curse of the first Adam and restored to me not only His Spirit, in governance of my own, but also the perfect body which had also been foretold. And I rose in His presence with great fear and swelling revulsion and awe at what I had just witnessed at the cause of my sin. Weeping again uncontrollably I said, "Lord, how can this be? I am not worthy of your presence even in judgement, yet here I stand before you, restored, perfected, whole and redeemed on the last day; behold I cannot bear it, I cannot fathom it!" Again, I fell with my face to the shining ground, unable to comprehend the mercy, grace and justice which had been demonstrated before my eyes.

Then the Lord God said, "It has been paid and you have been made righteous in My sight. Rise My son and become like He who has saved you; follow to become the brother of Him and the perfect image of the One True God."

Then I woke and understood that it had been a dream and I wept, for I was still corrupt. And I cried out saying, "Lord of Heaven! What now shall I do?."

Then I heard Him answer and He said, "Follow Me and love Me by doing as I have commanded. Love Me first, before all others, and with all of your heart, your strength, you mind and your will. Also love thy neighbor as yourself. For upon these two commandments rely the rest. This is my perfect will. Go now, My son, and sin no more, for I have paid the price of your sin."

"'...for I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."