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 Lord, My Lord, I feel like I am treated like the faithless,
They look at me and think that I am weak,
But I want you God to lift my head up,
I want your glory,
What do you say to me?
I heard you Lord, in the night’s stillness.
You take my independence and teach me to rely on you,
You say, I need to put all my confidence in you,
Even though I think that it looks I’m crazy,
Tonight Lord I pray that I will sleep well,
Confident in your provision,
Knowing that I am your child,

I am blessed
I am your child.
I am blessed,
I am your Son.
I am blessed,
I am your beloved.
I am blessed,
You have delivered me.

Lord I have lost my joy,
I feel like I don’t belong,
Regret is all around me,
Yearning for what was promised,
But, living in a world that hates God,
Means my enemy’s voice is loud in my ears,
They scream at God – mocking him,
Thinking that God doesn’t hear.

God’s day is coming,
Every vicious word heard,
God has not forgotten me,
Even when I am in the midst of strangers,
Mockers will be humbled by God,
God will make all things right.

Dear God my life is a testimony,
To your belief in me,
I am just a minute speck in time,
My life was a futile attempt to be important,
But, all my efforts left me depressed,

Forgiveness is what unfetters my life,
I waited too long to understand this fully,
My God was always waiting for me,
Love oozes from God’s being day and night,
He seeks me out,
To embrace me – with a bear hug,
Oh how I love his smell!

Lord, I have reached the end of this path,
I need you to point me in the right direction,
Opposition has drained me,
Haters words are cruel,
They delight in seeing my pain,
Desiring to declare my weakness,
and use it against God,

I know I sound pathetic,
Asking for help again,
The victim of my own choices,
Don’t you desert me too God,
Let me see that again you rescued me,
I want to shout this message out,
God hates the haters.

My life is full of Incessant activity,
I feel like I am on a treadmill,
Working really hard but getting nowhere,
Tiredness is the constant cry of my world,
I want to get some really good sleep,
However, it eludes me because there’s more to do.

But, rest is waiting for me,
It’s God’s gift to his children,
Those who are worn out by the treadmill,
God’s way first brings us a cool drink,
It refreshes as if I had worked in the sun all day,
Then he keeps bringing me cool drinks,
Whenever the day gets hot,
His hand is outstretched with a full glass.

I’ve tried lots of ways to find rest,
Increased efficiency wasn’t the answer,
It worked for a short time,
Then I was back to where I started,
the only way was to return to God,

I found the answer –
It wasn’t by doing more,
Or by trying to be better at what I do,

No.

It’s simply by trusting God,
Admitting that I couldn’t succeed on my own,
I have my own room in God’s house,
I love it because my Father spent time creating it,
No more worry about where I will live,
It’s completely paid for,
A home built for eternity.

Skilled liars play with the truth,
Using words that disguise true intent,
Destruction is all around them,
Its dust obscures any glimpse of truth,
Reason doesn’t even get a glance.

Wait – their fate is assured,
God is coming down like a ton of bricks,
Smashing their glass houses,
They will disappear into nothing,
Futility is the battle they chose,
Because God’s hand is sure and strong,
With little tolerance of poisoned tongues,
Their fate is already set,
God doesn’t forget what is done to the least,
Promise is waiting for those who seek truth.

From birth speaking deceit,
Impressed by a words power,
To control by paralysis,
Evil only hears its own voice,
Charmed by its own sound,
The pain of injustice is no longer heard.

Their destructive outbursts,
Don’t worry God,
He watches as they harmlessly echo into nothing,
Powerless to harm language’s creator.

When God speaks deceit will bow,
It will choke on its own spit,
Humility will watch on,
When God’s voice corrects deceit,
Humility hears its sound,
Deceit is silenced.

Disappointment is a constant companion,
Opposition seems to dog every step,
Love isn’t my natural response,
To those who use confusion as their weapon,
Even those on my own side are difficult,
Saying one thing but doing another,
They should be sticking up for me,
But, they are blocking my light,
I can’t see a way forward,

What will I do?
I will find ways to praise God,
I won’t give up,
My praise will show the way forward,
Worry will be put in its place,
Praise will lead others,
Praise is unstoppable,
Praise will celebrate my delight in God.

I spent too long in the shadows,
Searching my heart for truth,
Seeking to discover the secret to life,
It was a restless life,
A slippery path with no directions,
Guided by lies I sought to believe were truth.

My thoughts were constantly about my failures,
Sleepless night after sleepless night,
Always believing the worst about myself,
Making me think that God had given up on me.

But slowly I have come to realise,
That God is always with me,
He is faithful to his loving promise,
His desire to love me never wavers.

The shadows are still there,
The voice of darkness seeking to scream failure!
God’s light keeps the shadows at bay,
His Voice constantly whispering love words,
Day and night, waking and sleeping,
My dreams are about hope,
My thoughts are about his love for me,
I am living the promised life,
“Rest” is a beautiful place to live.

Work for work’s sake is futile activity,
Slavery to an endless list of tasks,
Only to achieve a bigger paycheck is futile,
They are illusions of success,
Rest is important too,
It teaches us that God provides.

Blessings come through the gift of children,
Celebrate their unique qualities,
Take time to be pleased with them,
When my enemy lashes me ,
With his endless put downs,
My children are a true testimony,
Of a life well lived.

Constant put downs left a decimated life,
They chipped at my soul,
Till everything was taken,
Only a small core remained,
I thought that everything was destroyed,
But, I found the part that they could not touch,
Sheltered from the blows,
By my God who loves me.

I found at my centre a loving heart,
Embracing my most inner parts,
Breathing for me when I was too scared,
Touching me when I felt like a failure,
You did not forget me,
All the time protecting who I am.

Failure is turned to success,
Laughter is given fresh voice,
Mercy takes me to hope,
I see it all now,
Gifts from my Lord,
That are mine for eternity.

My heart longs to return home,
I spent too long wandering aimlessly,
Searching for the answers to my questions,
My heart’s deepest yearnings,
Needing to find rest.

I found the answer,
It was there within me,
When I centred on God,
I learned where rest is,
Aimless wandering wearied my soul,
A God filled life brought discovery,
Each day becoming alive with opportunity.

I love being together at home,
Sharing with my family our love,
Comfortable with each other’s unique ways,
Rest, peace, love, bring true riches,
Aimless wandering turned to fresh purpose,
I bask daily in the sweetness of success.

My starting point each day is God,
It begins with goodness,
I can’t wait to wake up and begin my praise,
Thoughts that centre on God,
Make me feel warm inside,
My stomach stops churning,
I am totally secure,
God’s love in certain.

God breathed life into my body,
Then I sought to destroy myself,
But, God was my faithful companion,
I will never forget the day,
When I gave up, the end had come,
God turned up,
Breathing new life into my worn out soul,
Loyal, and trustworthy,
I daily seek to echo his Voice.

I tried to do it all myself,
Wanting to be my own saviour,
God needed to be brutal,
Because, I was headstrong,
I thought my way was the best way,
I only wanted to hear my voice.

God sometimes needs to push hard,
To get me to listen,
I can be pig headed,
Unwilling to sit in his classroom
He had to push me down in my seat,
And, still I wasn’t a good student.

My classmates said I was dumb,
They pointed out my errors,
They looked for ways to show me,
Just how stupid I was,
They tried to make each day,
A lesson about my stupidity.

God my teacher was at the front,
Showing me how to love,
But, I listened to my classmates more,
Bullied into despair,
I thought that I was unworthy,
The daily message of stupid,
Etched into my heart.

The lessons I needed to learn,
God’s voice slowly brought to light,
Hear his lesson about love,
Trust that he will deliver,
See the heart of love,
Know that the he will transform,
Words of hate and mistrust,
Into joyous shouts of praise.

Each morning is an eager expectation,
Each day a celebration,
That my God will be with me,
Worry is not on the day’s agenda,
Love is my eternal truth.

When the self loving hypocrite hurls insults,
In love with his own deceptions,
I can stand confidently in God’s love,
The insults are barbed with lies,
But, my life is ruled by truth,
The lies fall harmlessly by the wayside,
Their power completely disarmed,
By love’s restoring hope.

The day is coming soon,
When the hypocrite will see truth,
It will strike terror in his heart,
God’s loving hand will protect me
His anger unleashed at hate’s greed,
God is determined to set things right forever.

I choose life today,
God’s loving protection,
Is my source of joy,
Worries are momentary blips,
In a tapestry of eternal praise,
Love is my eternal reward,
Seen today from hope’s perspective.

Stupidity says that God doesn’t exist,
They misguide people with their hollow assurances,
Their words are putrid – rotten to the core,
Because, the only care for themselves,
They don’t care who they destroy,
Their only quest is self interest.

They live pitiful, fearful lives,
Exercising more power in smaller circles,
Living in a world constricted by hate,
Less and less believable,
As the truth comes to light,
The consequences of selfishness,
When exposed to honesty,
Is the wrath of God,
Unleashed to protect his child.

God missed none of this,
He has heard the putrid words,
He has felt my pain,
There is no escape.
Those who sought my destruction,
They will get the reward of selfishness,
Their stupidity will be exposed,
Clever words will become their shame,
Meanwhile I will join in Eternity’s song,
Singing loud and strong,
About my God’s love.

When I was really down,
Even my closest friend deserted me,
Starting in the early hours of the morning,
My days went long into the night,
A good night’s sleep was my deepest desire,
But, I wondered if I would ever know rest,
I lay awake fearing the next attack,
Each night a fearful recollection of the lies spoken,
Anticipating the next onslaught of hatred’s stare,
Each day facing the contemptuous glare,
I crumbled under the strain,
My soul bleeding tears of sorrow,
At the betrayal of my trust.

The daily raids of terror,
The barrage of hate words,
Were the favourite weapons,
Unleashed in a daily “friendly” fire,
My life was shattered,
The word shards digging deep,
My life’s cry to God was, “mercy,”
I wanted the pain to go away.

My God, My God, why did I forsake you?
For a while I thought I was my salvation,
I was wrong!
Today my life is a witness to your strength,
I love to see Justice in action,
My voice is no longer silent,
I speak words of Love,
That bring terror to the godless,
My love shows up their selfishness.

The liar’s daily shame is displayed publicly,
Poverty is his selfish lust,
Hunger for money thwarted by God,
His riches are for the poor and broken hearted.
Abundance is my truth,
Life is lived with strength,
Discovering the fullness of Eternity’s love,
My life a witness to the power,
Of restoring, peaceful trust.

Lord you have heard my sobbing regrets,
I know that I am not good enough,
To speak to you,
I have spent night after night,
Counting my sins,
Blaming myself for everything,
There seemed to be no end to my failures.

The hater’s voice is venomous,
Oozing sweet tasting poison,
While each day he makes up his hate list,
Twisting nice words to line up me, the target,
My loyalty used to destroy me,
Confidences used to conspire against me,
Each day finding new ways to bring me down,
Attack upon attack,
Nothing was sacred,
He used everything to try to destroy me.

Now I have complete confidence,
God is sorting it all out
He has heard each hate word,
Felt every one of my family’s hurts,
Justice will be wielded,
The Hater will face God’s reality,
Arrogance will see Humility,
It will bring the Hater to his knees,
The great reversal will begin,
For Hate it will be a frightening journey to Truth.

My fears are now my strength,
My brokenness once mocked by the Hater,
These are my greatest comforts,
I was so close to dying,
Stupidly I thought it was the answer,
My daily regrets,
Are now my praises,
Thanks to you God,
I am now living,
An example of your power,
Demonstrated through human weakness.