Empty is the tomb.
Empty are its threats.
Curse borne from the womb
Cancelled with our debts.
Freedom from our doom
Found in heaven’s nets.
Photo by Paul Gilmore on Unsplash
Author: joethewaller
Fear and Trembling and Faith
Søren Kierkegaard used to intimidate me. In truth, he still does. He’s a daunting figure, both prolific in output and profound in thought. I viewed him as part of an undefined group of unapproachables, authors whose work lies beyond the scope of my ability to comprehend. But one of the joys of research is that you get to engage formidable thinkers and grapple with their work, approaching the unapproachables to learn their secrets. This semester, I spent some time researching Kierkegaard’s thought surrounding his book Fear and Trembling, and I was indeed challenged academically. However, the more I studied, the more I found myself challenged spiritually as well.
I Do Not Want to Follow You Today
I do not want to follow you today,
And though I know the path you set is right,
I do not want to walk the narrow way.
I struggle now to find the words to say
That, though I do not want to leave the light,
I do not want to follow you today.
I still will read the Bible, still will pray;
Yet, as I stand before the darkest night,
I do not want to walk the narrow way.
God, can I still within your purpose stay
When, with emotions filling me with fright,
I do not want to follow you today?
Storm clouds have come and turned clear skies to grey.
God, must I walk by faith and not by sight?
I do not want to walk the narrow way.
These few concerns before your throne I lay.
Lord, leave me not, though in this temp’ral plight,
I do not want to follow you today,
I do not want to walk the narrow way.
Photo by Konstantin Planinski on Unsplash
Sacrificial Love
Friendship isn’t always comfortable. Continue reading
All To Your Throne
Let me be part of your story unfolding.
Make me remember I am not my own.
Batter my heart till, your glory beholding,
I defer all to your throne.
Photo by Ian Stauffer on Unsplash
This poem alludes to the poem “Batter my heart, three-person’d God” by John Donne. Look it up for more on the idea behind today’s poem.
Student Ministry, Theology, and Thinking Well
Fiction
Untrue stories still can teach us
Truths which shape our living stories.
Fiction’s mirror still may reach us
With eternal glories.
All reality is brimming
With more truth than can be spoken.
Still, too many minds are dimming.
Let yours be awoken.
Photo by Janko Ferlič on Unsplash
Listening Well
All Things Work for the Good, You Say
All things work for the good, you say.
I do not doubt the truth.
But shall I see the good one day,
Ever detect your better way
When circumstances ever lay
Before my doubtful heart a “may”
Which shakes the faith of youth
With fears I shudder to convey?
My mind is prone to wonder, though
I know you to be wise.
When progress on the road is slow,
When seasons threaten me with snow
Or desert heat, when all is woe –
God, how much further must I go?
My limits are my eyes.
I cannot see how I must grow.
Yet none can know your mind. You see
Past ev’ry fear I face.
So when I lose perspective, be
The peace amidst confusion, he
Whose presence makes the raging sea
A place of rest: tranquility
Of soul because of grace,
Enduring to eternity.
Photo by Dimitar Donovski on Unsplash
Thanks to Montray for helping me title this poem.
as i learn to walk 