My Version

Hatred has a smell,
Like a corpse rotting in the battlefield,
Contempt’s odour is distinct,
Pride is bathed in it,
It putridly seeks to infect those around it,
My enemy bathes in contempt every day,
Never resting in finding new ways to lie,
Creating elaborate word snares,
That confuse truth.

I was trapped by contempt,
Breathing its foul air,
Wondering when arrogance would rise,
Seeking ways to shatter my hope.

It’s time to seek God,
To watch his power unleashed,
In anger for his child’s pain,
Stupid enemy,
Arrogance is God’s enemy,
It will get its due,
Words that sought my destruction,
Will torment your heart,
In your sleeplessness,
Where all hope has faded.

It’s time to walk humbly,
Waiting,
Listening,
Silent,
Rest,
Learning my Father’s footsteps.

My Version

Enough is enough,
I will no longer cower,
Scared of lies and malicious intent,
My loyalty repaid with contempt,
This is not the life that God has for me.

I am ready God,
To walk with my head high,
To face hatred and stare it down,
I have heard my dear enemy’s voice,
Let the destructive hate words,
Eloquently put together but bathed in malice
Spoken with their foul smelling voice,
Be collected and be discarded with their faeces,

My enemy spends too much time in destruction,
I choose to seek honesty,
Honesty is about God’s truth,
Spoken as a love song,
My enemy is confounded,
Because my heart continues to sing
Praise that reaches my Source,
Sung with the breath of Eternity.

 

My Version

When I discovered truth in you God,
I couldn’t ever imagine going back to what I had before,
I know that one day everyone will recognise you as God.

I want every part of me to know you,
I want you to heal my broken heart,
So that gap between desire and reality is bridged,
Creation’s wonder emerges renewed,
Shadows become bathed in light.

Stupidly people seek to bring me down,
Their anger against me is turned to you,
What a fearful world they must live in,
I pity them because they don’t know about grace,
They live in a tenuous half life,
Constrained by their own pain,
Their world doesn’t understand compassion,
They seek to feel better by pushing me down.

My next request is difficult,
But, show me your goodness,
Deal with those stupid people,
Let their futile attempts at greatness,
When they sought to destroy me,
Become their own tormenter,
Don’t take it easy on their destructive desire,
I seek mercy to be shown through your strength,
God, you work it out – I will trust you.

My Version of Psalm 55

God are are you there?
You must be able to hear what is said about me?
Aren’t you my protector?

I love how you show up self declared power,
Before you it looks pathetic,
My enemy speaks words against me,
But they are contributing to his downfall,
He gathered an arsenal of put downs,
I felt like he used every last one of them against me,
He was so good at it,
I started believing him and not you God.

I doubted myself,
I stopped sleeping,
I imagined the worst,
I thought that I would die.

None of this was true,
The worst was transformed into peace,
God turned up,
I visited the shadow but now live in the light.

My dear enemy continues to gather words,
In the hope that he can overcome God,
It’s a futile hope,
But he clings to it with a death grip,
Sucked in a downward spiral into darkness.

I know what anxiety is,
I know what fear is,
I have tasted failure,
Yet God is still with me,
He hears my prayer this morning,
My Saviour.

My Version

What are you doing with my trust God?
You are treating me like my enemies,
My voice is lost among creation’s lament,
I shouldn’t be in this position,
Where I am begging for you to listen to me.

My enemies exhaust me,
Their putrid words dripping with hate,
Words creating fear and division,
Ripping at my heart,
I feel sick – sick enough to die,
My enemy gathers like minded haters,
They crowd around me hungry for the kill,
Lashing me with contemptuous barbs.

My legacy will be declared by my children,
That my God delivers,
He will speak praise words,
That will echo through humanity’s heart,
Even the deaf haters will hear him,
And have to endure eternity’s praise,
Witnesses of worship given to the rightful king.

My Version

I don’t understand why people plan evil,
Isn’t doing good a better option?
It’s happened again though,
My dear enemy has promised good,
But delivered hate,
They keep telling me that it’s love!
Confusion is created again,
Too many words wreaking havoc,
Hate relishes confusion,
It gives opportunity for destruction.

A much better way is to plan good,
God doesn’t tolerate duplicity,
He will set it all straight,
My dear enemy will face the truth,
Words used to destroy me,
Will entrap them in their own confusion.

I love how my God works,
Protecting me against my dear enemy,
Turning the tables –
My enemy’s power becomes weakness,
Even if they don’t see it,
It is a witness God’s power to the world.

My Version

Lord, I have felt like everything is wrong,
It feels like all hope has been lost,
Overwhelmed with sleepless nights,
I think constantly of my failures.

This is the time when I cried out to you God,
In the middle of the night,
In the early morning,
When the shadow of depression touched my soul,
When I feel only darkness,
When my friendships are shattered.

In all of this you are speaking to me,
Waiting for my response:
I choose to praise – not hate,
I choose to live powerfully – in your strength,
I choose to love – forgiving wrongs,
I choose life – eternity with my Father.

My Version of Psalm 62

Peace is such a beautiful place to find,
I have discovered true rest with my Father,
He has helped me withstand the personal attacks,
He will confront the lies that were told,
The lies that were intended to destroy me,
They were destruction veiled as truth,
I watched as my enemy took delight,
In seeing me hit rock bottom.

I know now how to take a true rest,
So that those lies no longer affect me,
Truth relies on God – not on my enemy,
I have learned to pour my heart out to God,
So that my ears hear only truth.
The great reversal is coming,
Where God sets it all right,
In the meantime I am learning what is important,
Rich or poor the end result is the same,
We must keep close to God,
Trust him above everything else,
This is the only safe place in this world,
Eternal love expressed with truth is the result.

My Version

Today I feel like giving up,
Opposition is all around me,
It never seems to let up,
Are you listening God?

When the fear rises up inside of me,
I can taste its foul stench,
I feel sick with worry,
About what can go wrong.

When my enemy wears me down,
I must learn to look to God,
I can’t solve my enemy’s problems,
I know You have protected me in the past,
And, You will continue to protect me in the future.

Praise is the best response to fear,
Fear shrinks when God is praised,
God’s will is fulfilled in praise.

My Version

Why are intelligent, powerful people so stupid,
They make idiotic plans,
Then they expect people to follow them,
But, their plans never consider God,
Reality is they actually oppose God.
Then as their stupidity grows,
Their plans become plots to destroy God,

All this doesn’t scare God,
Laughter is his response to their idiocy,
God’s plans cannot be changed by humans,
Even humans who think that they are in control,
His plans involve his children,
They are protected against the powerful,
When they use their power to bring down the weak,
God’s response is steely look,
That should strike terror into their hearts.

I will praise God this morning for his protection,
I will celebrate that I am his child,
My experience this morning is a loving look,
Today my plan is to have God in his right place in my life.

 

My Version

My dear enemy,
Why do you think you are so right?
You pretend to care,
While planning selfish destruction,
Words are used to confuse the truth,
Relishing in unleashing each painful barb.

Dear enemy you appear to be powerful,
It’s an illusion and I fear for your future,
When God completes his plan,
Truth will be brought in the daylight,
Self declared truth will be seen as foolishness,
People are already incredulous at your self deception,
Your plan won’t work in the end,
Getting ahead is never about destroying others,
God’s way is about lifting people up.

I choose to put my roots in God,
I choose to trust God,
I choose to praise God,
I choose to put my hope in God,
I choose to declare this daily.

My Version

This morning I woke and felt happy,
It’s just good to know that God’s in control,
The world’s in turmoil,
People are running around worried about life,
My advice is to look beyond yourself,
Put God in his right place.

When you do this worry is not required,
Your place with God is assured,
It doesn’t matter what others think,
He will reward your trust,
God is like a really good friend,
Giving back much more than you give him.

My Version

Life is full of distress,
It’s a relief to know that God is always with me,
He looks closely at my heart,
To see if my actions come from my love of him.

God wants his children to be happy,
He wants us to shout out our praises to him,
Praises that come from a heart of thankfulness,
Praises that see God’s provision,
Praises that cannot be kept to ourselves.

Here’s what I know to be true,
This is because I’ve seen God do these things,
There is only one person that is totally trustworthy,
That’s God,
Follow him and you will not be limited by difficulties,
Opposition has no hope against God,

Lord hear my heart today,
I love seeing your hand at work in my life,
Thank you that you see me through my troubles,
To help me emerge more confident in you.

My Version of Psalm 110

God speaks lovingly to his child,
Words saying she has a special place in his heart,
When there is conflict everywhere,
When feeling the enemies of doubt and worthlessness,
This is when God’s power will be on display,

God doesn’t fool with his children’s emotions,
His love in constant and ongoing,
He sees you as wonderful and uniquely precious,
His children belong to him.

God is with you my child,
He is waiting to defeat your enemies,
Drink from his words today,
So you are ready to face the day.

My Version

I need to not worry about what others do,
Or think they are getting ahead,
What they create won’t last,
If it doesn’t come from a heart,
Turned to you God.

This is the path God has for us:
Trust in God – Live creatively.
Seek God’s will- Live obediently.
Listen to God – Live attentively.
Don’t worry – Live freely.

God’s opposition don’t have long,
The outcome of their actions,
Will be held to account,
Their words will come back to bite them,
The people that they sought to bring down,
Will be given a place of privilege by God.

It’s great to live life being cared by God,
I’ve seen the outcome of selfishness over and over,
It doesn’t work,
It’s much better to give it away,
Than to tread on others for the sake of selfish ambition.

God knows the reasons for our actions,
He is going to reward those who have sought him,
The day of selfishness is nearly over,
It’s future is short,
Instead seek God and eternity is there to be grasped,
God is waiting to share it with us forever.

My Version

When I consider your goodness Lord,
It highlights my poverty,
I have realised how much I need you,
It’s finally got through my thick head,
That I need your forgiveness,
Without it my life is wretched.

Thank you for restoring me,
You have brought joy to my life again,
By helping me to remember,
That I belong totally to you.

My Version

Rock bottom is the worst place to go to,
It’s the place where all hope appears to be lost,
I’ve been there.
Making it much worse,
Was that my “friend” wanted to destroy me,
He wanted to see me with nothing,
I am glad he will reap what was sown,
His actions are his shame,
I trust God’s wisdom in sorting out what was done to me,
I am not worried about it any more,
My life has taken a new turn,
It’s the God shaped life,
That can’t be touched by anyone.

When I was really down,
I cried out to you,
I couldn’t help myself,
I was a total mess,
I needed someone to rescue me,

Compared to other offers of help,
God’s help has no ulterior motive,
I will declare this to anyone who will listen,
God now you are my first choice.
I should have known better,
Than to trust anyone but you,
You don’t care what I think I can do,
It’s all about what you do for me,
My life is a witness to your power and provision.

This is my declaration to the whole world,
My God is my Saviour,
He delivered me from despair,
Now I live with hope as my constant companion.

My Version

Some people choose a path of self destruction,
They don’t care about you God,
Because they think more about themselves,
Elevating their own importance,
Flattering themselves by crushing others.

Sooner or later the truth comes out,
They trap themselves in their own lies,
Ensnared in a deceitful path,
They fight its death trap,
Even when they try to sleep,
The truth of their actions haunt every waking hour.
Evil has its consequences,
Sooner or later its perpetrator’s,
Will face the music.

Short term gain is not the right path,
for those who love God with all their hearts,
I will take your protection every day,
Trying to save myself is too hard,
You are the one that saves.

This love is returned a hundred times my God,
You will protect me against the proud,
I am protected by your word to me,
That says I am your  child,
There is nothing that I don’t control,
Trust me to protect you.

The time is fast coming,
Where things are set right,
There will be no escape,
For those who choose to reject you.

My Version

Why do some people seem hell-bent on my destruction?
They are well armed,
Wielding their weapons of mass destruction,
Against me personally.
What do I do with my enemies God?

I don’t wish ill on anyone yet I still have enemies,
God I am turning to you to protect me.
When someone comes against me,
With attacks that don’t let up,
Even when they have me down,
They keep coming with more vindictiveness,
Watching for every opportunity
To put in the knife,
Stabbing me in the back,
Twisting it to cause maximum pain,
This is really is an attack against you, God.

For a long time,
I thought you were ignoring me,
Enemies were gloating at my distress,
I was trying to do my best,
My best was never good enough,
Every little failure was an opportunity,
To twist that knife a little more,
To make sure that I could never feel good.

One day justice will be done,
All in your good time God,
You will turn their gloating into a cry for help,
Lies will be exposed,
Truth will win out in the end,
This will be your opportunity God,
To set things right.

In the meantime,
I will keep serving you wholeheartedly,
I will keep trusting you have my best interests,
This will be an opportunity to tell others about you.

My Version 

When I hit rock bottom,
Lord you were there,
When I was sinking into a deep hole,
Of depression and despair,
I knew you were the only one who could save me,
Even when the knife was stuck into me,
By my friend who wanted to destroy me,
You brought me back from the brink of death,
You always protected me.

I am in constant wonder,
How you turned my life around completely,
You have brought me to a place of happiness,
Every day I want to shout this out to the world.

I know now that security is only found in God,
His love is the only constant in this world,
It is love that will go on eternally,
And, this eternal love has been turned to me,
I have experienced Grace,
I can never settle for second best again.