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And that’s our outdated claim.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

 

A Great Idea

 

I had a great idea

At least I thought so,

I put it into action

All systems were on go.

It was a good idea

Yet void of thought

And I didn’t see the trouble

With which it was fraught.

I was raised in the church

That is all I knew,

 I was a singer and teacher

And an evangelist too.

 

But I became jealous

Yes, you wouldn’t believe

Of the aspiring converts

And how they were received.

It was like a honeymoon

What a fuss was made!

Like a baby in the family

You would be amazed.

And when they testified

I said to myself

Their experience was rich

Unlike my spiritual health.

They talked of their past

And from where God brought them,

I was always in the church

And therein was my problem.

I had no experiences

About which I could talk,

They were way ahead of me

For sure regarding their walk.

Here I was all these years

With nothing to boast about,

They had just come in

And already they could shout.

 

Which of us was the babe?

I began to wonder,

It appeared to be me

So I had much to ponder.

If I had similar experiences

I would be just like them,

Hence my great idea

That was replete with problems.

They came in with scars

Salvation could not remove,

That they went through hard times

Their testimonies did prove.

I was spared such

Having been always in church,

Why change all that

And be left in the lurch?

A dear friend of mine

Showed to me this reality

And as a result

I am sharing this testimony.

One’s past is a reminder

Regarding where he has been,

Be satisfied with the fact

That you have been redeemed.

Don’t compare testimonies

Or even progress reports,

Thank God for the fact

That He is your support.

Be grateful for the hardships

God has protected you from

And march to His timing

And not another's drum.

 

Be careful regarding the ideas

Which bombard your head,

Keep focus on Jesus

And follow him instead.

  

I’ve missed some of these guys

They are no longer around

And the frequency of such

Exponentially abounds.

Where are they to day

In their spiritual experience?

I have absolutely no idea

Ever since their absence.

But what I do know

Is that God has kept me thus far,

His testimony is true

And none comes on par.

The best experiences to get

Are those that are in Christ,

This is my current idea

And it has truly sufficed.

I had a great idea

At first I thought so

But after sound advice

That idea had to go.

Stewart Russell © April 2019