A Song for Sunday

One night in the storm they saw a form
Walking upon the sea.
Then Peter cried out, “It’s the Lord, I’ve no doubt.
Please bid me come unto Thee.”
And Jesus said, “Yes, thy faith I will bless.
Step out and walk with Me.”
But Peter looked down at the waves all around
And cried, “Lord, I’m beginning to sink!”

Then Jesus reached out His hand and drew him to safety.
Out of the waves He brought him back to His side.
And Jesus said, “Fear not, for lo I am with you.
Look unto Me, for I am your Savior and Guide.”

“Lord Jesus, come quick, poor Lazarus is sick!”
Was the sisters’ urgent plea.
When two days had passed, the Lord said at last,
“Let’s wake him from his sleep.”
He plainly then said that Lazarus was dead,
That the glory of God they might see.
When He called out to say, “Take the stone away,”
They cried, “Lord, he’s beginning to stink.”

Then Jesus lifted His voice and called him to victory.
Out of the grave He brought him back to His side.
And Jesus said, “Fear not, for lo I am with you.
Look unto Me, for I am your Savior and Guide.”

Deceit filled my mind and left me blind
To my hell-bent destiny.
My heart full of pride left a void inside,
But Jesus cared for me.
He opened my eyes to see Satan’s lies
And offered mercy free.
The scales fell away from my eyes that day.
I cried, “Lord, I’m beginning to see!”

Then Jesus lifted Himself and called me to Calvary.
Up from the grave He rose to claim His bride.
And Jesus said, “Fear not, for lo I am with you.
Look unto Me, for I am your Savior and Guide.
You’re never alone, for I am your Savior and Guide.”

Today’s Song for Sunday is one of my own, which I wrote in 2014. Most poems don’t come to me quickly, but this song was a notable exception. I was lying in bed and nearly asleep when the words started to flow. Right away I got up, turned on the light, and quickly wrote out the entire song—with the music—in about a half hour. Then I went back to bed and fell asleep.

The inspiration for this song came from the devotion a friend of mine had just brought in our nursing home Bible study the night before. His text was Matthew 14:23-33. In this passage, Jesus walks on the water in the midst of a storm. When Peter recognizes Him, he wants to walk on the water too. Jesus tells him to come, and Peter steps out of the boat and walks on the water. Trouble is, before long he gets distracted by the waves crashing all around him.

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, “Lord, save me.”                                                                                   Matthew 14:30

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never begun to sink. I’m either swimming or sinking; there is no in-between—not normally. But in Peter’s case there was. This too is just as miraculous as his being able to walk on the water in the first place. Jesus was not going to let anything happen to Peter; He only wanted to increase his faith.

And what of the story of Lazarus’s death? He and his sisters were some of Jesus’s closest friends, and yet when Jesus heard that his friend was sick, He delayed in going to see him. To those around Him it may have seemed insensitive, but God had a plan far above anything they could have imagined. You see, if He had responded right away, sure, He could have healed Lazarus. But Jesus wanted to show them all a greater lesson; He wanted them to see that He had the power to raise a man from the dead because He wanted to increase their faith.

The change Jesus performed in my heart was no less a miracle than what He did for Peter or Lazarus. My eyes were blinded to the condition of my heart. I was on the path to destruction, and I didn’t even know it. Now I thank God every day for giving me a new life and a new reason to live. I can’t help but tell others about Him.

Photo taken at Pensacola Beach, Florida, 2017