Tag: God’s Comfort

WHEN TERROR STRIKES

I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Psalm 3:4

WHEN TERROR STRIKES

by Effie Darlene Barba

 

When terror strikes from every side

Inciting fear in every heart

When all I see is torn apart

How can I Lord in You abide?

And rest in peace upon they word

With all the hate and sorrow heard

From wretched men, so filled with pride

I need a place in which to hide

 

I turn and lift my eyes toward You

To search the dark, to understand

How can this be as You have planned?

When all the world seems so askew

By evil hearts so filled with sin

It’s hard to see Your love will win

When selfish hearts themselves pursue

Destruction, death and pain ensue

 

As I gazed there shone forth a light

And reaching forth a steady hand

That held at bay hell’s death command

With sovereign power and such might

It is Grace alone that bids you wait

While justice bids man’s final fate

That one more broken heart contrite

With blinded eyes to then find sight

 

Oh, Lord, please help me understand

That the same love that bore the cross

Is Your love for us when we face loss

That Grace holds firm Your Mighty hand

That every kindness we have known

Is proof Your grace for us is shown

For Justice would itself demand

That darkness, death consume our land

 

So, help me Lord to be a light

To spread your word where e’er I go

Your love, your hope, your joy to show

Your gospel truth to then take flight

Transforming hearts that one by one

They seek and find your precious son

That then your Glory shine so bright

Beams of Grace in the dark of night

[bctt tweet=”As long as there are men who pray, God’s Hand of Grace has steady stayed.” username=”effiedarlene”]

[tweetthis]We do not know when God will return, so let us labor as if it were today![/tweetthis]

[bctt tweet=”Do not give up hope! Christ’s Final Victory Cry is drawing near!” username=”effiedarlene”]

Picture courtesy of http://www.lifeofpix.com/photographer/stefan-stefancik

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post.  I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Poetry Sunday—I Did But Pray

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When loved ones, friends, or even those we meet along this journey are surrounded by darkness; all too often we want to rush in and talk, talk, talk.  As though our words might bring comfort.  Then, we wish to rush away when that doesn’t work; proclaiming defeat.  It is hard to stay; lovingly sitting quietly, forgiving the wrongs, holding tight to hope when everything seems to keep crashing downward.  Perhaps, it would be impossible to stay and quietly persevere.  Yet, there are those times when that is what we are bid to do.  Our only hope to do that is found in the strength, love, and grace of Christ indwelling us.  When we remember God’s grace and mercy toward us; then, we can be love, grace and mercy to others around us.  Had I drowned Pete with words, he might never have seen God’s Grace.  Instead, He saw God’s Grace ultimately through God’s Grace and Love within me providing me the strength to stand, take Pete’s hand, and quietly pray.  At the same moment, God was showing me the depth of His love for me as well.  If I had never known sorrow; could I have ever known God’s comfort?  Could I ever display God’s comforting Grace to another person in their darkness; had I not known the power of God’s Grace reaching to me?

God's ComfortI Did But Pray

In your darkness filled with fear

I walked beside and drew you near

There were no words that I could say

So Quietly I did but pray

 

What more could I have said or done

Than point you to God’s own dear son

By showing you the grace of God

As on this road we both did trod

 

My words would mean so little now

Unless I were to live somehow

Displaying Grace by what I do

Forgetting self to think of you

 

No distance then would be too far

Willing to go where e’er you are

To walk beside to take your hand

To bring you hope, to firmly stand

 

That when the world a dark abyss

Upon your brow my gentle kiss

Awakening to see God’s light

A hope within could rise and fight

 

Against the tides that pull you down

The anguish that would bid you drown

Please take my hand and come with me

Oh how I wish your heart could see

 

The love of God, His Grace to you

That as His face comes into view

Amidst the sorrows in your heart

God’s comfort bidding them depart

 

His love can wrap you in His arms

Protecting you from evil’s harms

Oh, how I wish that you could see

My strength, my love is Christ in me

 

So,

In your darkness filled with fear

I walked beside and drew you near

There were no words that I could say

So Quietly I did but pray

Is there someone you know who is drowning in despair?  The weight of life’s trials are wearing them down?  Or are you weighted down with sorrow and pain?  Oh, my dear friends, remember this.  God in His Sovereignty allows those sorrows that come into our life. [bctt tweet=”Into a broken world God reaches in with a steady hand of Grace bringing purpose out of our pain”]  1.  Either He is drawing you closer to Himself in the midst of the trial  2.  Or He is preparing you to share in His Glory by allowing you to be the testimony that leads another to Christ.  Usually, He is doing both.

Photo courtesy of https://unsplash.com/joshuaearle  The poetry is mine.

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post.  I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.