Who Are We Fooling?

 

 

Here we have no continuing city

But we don’t want to leave

And if the prognosis is death

We cannot help but grieve.

 

Yet “we are going to a city”

And we sing it so lustily,

Where we shall be with our Jesus

Throughout eternity.

 

The world looks in wonderment

“Are these people for real?”

We appear as lost as they are

And our testimonies fail.

 

Fail to impress them, I mean,

For they see us every day

And they have seriously concluded

We are walking in their way.

 

 

We take pride in our praying

And with fasting we are obsessed

But yet at nights, when we lay down,

Worry obstructs our rest.

 

We rush to God in a panic

Whenever there is bad news

And we pretend we have His peace

In the hope He won’t refuse…

Won’t refuse our requests

That we painstakingly detailed

To the God that knew everything

Yet in our asking we failed.

 

“God knows what’s best”

We declare it on the mountain top

But down in the valley it’s different

So, off that train we hop.

 

Yet God is our heavenly Father

Who is looking out for us,

Always as a matter of fact

But still, we lack the trust.

 

 

“God will take care of you”

I am sure you know this song

But yet we walk in uncertainty

Among the worldly throng.

 

Very unlike the Hebrew boys

That put their heads to the block,

Refusing to obey the king’s command

And to their knees won’t drop.

 

Though we pray incessantly

This world means much to us

And in similar trends to the world around

We get caught up in the fuss.

We’ve established a list for prayer

That we pray most of the time

And it appears there is no answer

Since it’s always on our mind.

 

What kind of being is God

That makes us beg and beseech,

That has promised to answer prayers

Even before we speak?

 

In plaintive tones we nag Him

Over and over again,

“But he always hears and answers”

And that’s our outdated claim.

 

“It’s going to be all right”

And we don’t mean in the by and by

But to the person in the trial

It’s just a feeble try.

 

Who are we fooling? I ask,

We are no different from most,

Though we pray and fast incessantly,

We make an empty boast.

 

 

As for me, I will trust in God

Just one day at a time,

For I cannot walk in tomorrow

Except in a troubled mind.

 

And when I am afraid

As I so often am,

I will trust in the Lord my God,

For I am only a man.

 

Stewart Russell © September 13, 2021

 

Faith and Trust

 

 

Faith and trust:

Are they the same?

I think not

I won’t make that claim.

 

One may observe

That they are similarities

But one should also note

Their diversities.

 

Faith comes by hearing

By hearing the Word.

Trust is different

And this is not absurd.

 

Let’s take the case

Of the three Hebrew boys,

Take note of the stance

They all three employed.

Their faith announced

That God can deliver

But their trust declared

The outcome did not matter.

 

Our faith commences

Just like the dawn

But our trust is like the day

It goes on and on.

 

Faith gets us started up

It is when we plug in

But trust keeps us walking

Away from sin.

 

Every time we sin

That is misplaced trust,

Somewhat like the world

That feel they must.

 

Our faith is in God

And so must be our trust,

Often however,

We are led away by lust.

 

While faith is still present

Our trust is not

And for that fleeting moment

Our God-focus is blocked.

 

I trust you can see

Where I am going with this,

It is particularly critical

This point you do not miss.

 

Yes both are important

And they do overlap

But they are also different

Let me show you that fact.

 

 

Faith is the connection

It is more than talk,

Trust is the constant

That characterizes our walk.

 

Hence you can see

Why we sometimes slip,

It is not faith that is absent

But our trust has taken a dip.

 

To walk out what we believe

Becomes a matter of trust,

It is more than plugging in

This walk is a must.

 

Trust is the heart that pumps

And faith is the blood,

When in proper working order

Everything is good.

 

The apostle James shows

Faith without works is dead,

The exercise of our faith

Evidences our trust instead.

 

Faith’s door is kept open

For every born again believer

So when trust’s door is shut

God can still deliver.

A measure of faith

To every believer is given

But our trust will develop

As the devil’s way is forsaken.

 

 

As God facilitates our faith

Trust is what we do

And regardless of outcomes

Nothing obscures our view.

 

By faith we came to God

And He forgave us our sin,

Trust is the evidence we show

That we belong to Him.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2018

 

God Is in Total Control

On Satan God sets limits

That Satan cannot break,

Satan is not the Almighty God

Hence, such restrictions he hates.

God will not allow on us

Above what we are able to bear,

Thus, when Satan comes a tempting

Him we ought not to fear.

Satan makes a proposition

But God inserts an imposition,

Satan can go thus far and no further

For God, he’s no opposition.

 

Yes, he accuses the brethren

But that is as much as he can do,

Unless God gives him the permission

He is like a discarded old shoe.

Take Job for an example

God was always in control,

This you would see very clearly

As you watch that narrative unfold.

Satan is never ahead,

He is always playing catch-up

But because we are not privy to the discourse

We seldom consider as much.

Satan is not really about us

He wants to discredit God,

He knows that God has made some promises

And he wants Him to look like a fraud.

That’s why he says to us, “Look,

Those promises God cannot keep.”

But God assures us in His Book,

In Him we can peacefully sleep.

God does not tempt us, He doesn’t,

But he allows Satan to do so

And through the temptations we experience,

God’s mercies always show.

He goes with us in the flood

And in the heat of the fire He’s there,

God is in total control, my brother, my sister,

And it is all because God cares.

Satan is plugged into God

It’s from God he gets his power,

He may pretend to be a roaring lion

But not one of God’s lambs can he devour.

He could not touch Noah in the Ark

Or the Hebrew boys in the fire,

Daniel was safe in the lion’s den

When God showed Satan to be a liar.

 

God is in control I assure you:

In our lion’s den, fire and flood,

And when it becomes too much for us

He will pull Satan’s plug.

So, cheer up my brother, my sister,

Whenever you feel forsaken,

When it appears God’s not in control,

It is Satan’s kingdom being shaken.

Stewart Russell © March 2020