Finding The Secret

More Than Conquerors
February 2005

“Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.” —Psalm 86:8-10

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” —Psalm 90:1, 2

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” —Psalm 139:7-10

Since God is infinite, we could spend forever talking about Him and His eternal attributes. If we lived 900 years we would still only understand a small piece of God.

But although we may never fully comprehend all the facets of who God is, He has revealed Himself to us in many ways…

Thunderstorm

When lightning flashes and thunder roars,
When large drops of rain pour down from the heavens,
When all the world seems enveloped in anger,
So may the Lord God appear.

Yet when the storm is over,
And peace has been restored,
When every plant and tree turns a brilliant green,
And the world looks fresh and new,
This is how the Lord God is.

—Olivia Conway
© 2005 Olivia Conway. Used with permission.

Forever God

Forever seems an awful long time
and hard to comprehend
God started the beginning
and goes all the way to the end.

So hard for us with our finite minds
to understand the meaning
until we need that gentle touch
and begin our task of leaning

Forever the same our God has been—
forever and a day—
forever He will always remain
the very exact same way.

He is our comfort in times of trial
He’s there for all who ask
He’ll give you strength and help you run
to endure every single task.

To flee from Him would be so foolish
His love and peace are free
His grace and mercy everlasting
is there for you and me.

When days go by, the pain persists
you may wonder where God went
but listen carefully to your heart
the answer was probably already sent!

God shows Himself to us each day
in flowers, trees and sky
just look real close at a newborn babe
God’s presence is no lie.

—Greta Cole
© 2005 Greta Cole. Used with permission.

Does my ignorance lift up Your majesty more?
Does it further convey my own state to be poor?
A small view of Your distance makes my progress shrink,
In Your limitlessness what I can I do but sink?

Draw me close! Hold me tight! Oh, do not let me go!
Since I once felt Your arms, they’re all I’ll ever know.
I have seen and my eyes want no more than to gaze.
Since this feeling I at nothing else am amazed.

In such irony, infirms play “King of the Hill”,
Choosing wasting their strength for a cold-blooded kill.
Only making themselves all the weaker in vain
And affording a terrible loss for small gain.

As for me, I’m content to be weakest of all.
Now no longer am I in a fight to win gall.
Now I’m cured, I’ve been healed, and forever I’m free
To just rest in the cosmic arms held out for me.

—Samuel Popiel

Explaining the Sky: Haiku 3

Explaining the sky,
They attempt a massacre
Of all that I know

All is air and wind
Or so they would have me think
But I see God here

Only those who know
Who has colored the Heavens
Distinguish His face

—Joanna Spencer
© Joanna J. Spencer. Used with permission.

His Presence

The air that hovers all about me
Refreshes me like peppermint—
I breathe the blues and greens of life,
Each one so full of subtle hints!

The presence of a hidden joy
The weary soul embraces—
It seeps into our lonely hearts;
The darkness it replaces…

I feel it all around me,
It’s dripping on my senses,
And oh! I see the truth at last—
It slipped by my defenses—

The presence that surrounds us
Is more than just a sweet perfume:
It’s God around, beside, within—
The hand that causes hearts to bloom.

—Benjamin Graber

God’s Love and Power

Rich in spirit and in love
Are we when we turn to God above.

His empowering Spirit
Waits for us to hear it.
His unfathomable grace
Desires us seek His face.

In Him we are total, complete.
In Him our future is unique.

It is wide,
covers everything.
It is long,
the length of our days.
It is high,
rises to the heights of heaven’s ring.
It is deep,
To the depths of the ocean’s despair of coral rays.

It is more than humans know.
It is richer than coins of gold.
It is waiting for you and me.
It is not bought, it is free.

The Unseen Face

“I do beseech thee, God, show me thy face.”
“Come up to me in Sinai on the morn!
Thou shalt behold as much as may be borne.”
And on a rock stood Moses, lone in space.
From Sinai’s top, the vaporous, thunderous place,
God passed in cloud, an earthly garment worn
To hide, and thus reveal. In love, not scorn,
He put him in a clift of the rock’s base,
Covered him with his hand, his eyes to screen—
Passed—lifted it: his back alone appears!
Ah, Moses, had he turned and hadst thou seen
The pale face crowned with thorns, baptized with tears,
The eyes of the true man, by men belied,
Thou hadst beheld God’s face, and straightway died!

—George MacDonald

Reaching God’s Heart

The sun goes down; another day
Has slipped right by my watchful eyes—
I wonder what this life’s about
I see so many follow lies—

But back when earth was perfect
God said man should not live alone;
Existence is defined by love
Each person giving up his own—

And even now, somehow, each day
We grow by giving more away,
We’re bound into eternal life
And selfish dragons learn to slay—

And we fulfill God’s ancient plans
As you and I, the living parts
Are built through love into the temple,
And so, together, reach God’s heart.

—Benjamin Graber

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or
nakedness or danger or sword?… No, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
—Romans 8:35, 37

If you have any comments or questions, or if you have a poem to share, please send an e-mail to bgraber@neo.rr.com

Visit our web page at http://home.neo.rr.com/thegraberclan/Fts/morethanconquerors.htm to read past issues of “More Than Conquerors”.

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