Greater Is He!

I look above to the Lord Most High
And thank Him for each day
That I have been so blessed with life
And with the love He gave.

I thank Him for the fact that I 
Can see & I can hear;
And I can feel His presence
Whenever He is near.

I have the use of both my legs;
Yes, I can walk & run - 
And I have pretty decent health;
My lifetime's far from done.

I thank God for the friendships
Of people dear to me;
And for the precious gift
Of a loving family.

I'm blessed with Christian friends,
And a church that I call home,
Where I am loved for who I am
And will never feel alone.

You'd think with all my blessings,
I'd have no cause to complain - 
But there are times when trials
Bring me stress & often pain.

One trial, I can handle;
Two or three - well, perhaps...
But when I get a dozen,
I feel I will collapse!

It seems they come in seasons;
It's either famine or it's flood.
Yet if I look to Jesus,
I'll find the comfort of His love.

It's easy to be tempted
To cry out in despair,
For though I try to live the way I should,
Life just isn't fair.

I thought that as a Christian,
I'd have strength & peace & hope -
But all I feel is weakness,
And an inability to cope.

Then just as I start thinking
I can't take it anymore,
I hear a peaceful knocking,
At my heart's closed door.

I look inside the peephole,
And much to my surprise,
I see a gentle figure
Looking through my eyes.

"Who is it?", I ask Him,
Through the door, still closed.
But I receive no answer -
Not even a peep or note.

Curiosity makes me wonder - 
"Should I let Him in?"
"But what if it's the devil,"
"Trying to strike again?".

Satan plays tricks, you know,
And tries to confuse our minds.
So when we think God's guiding us,
It's Satan we're behind.

I struggle & I struggle - 
Should I open up the door?
It could be Satan waiting to attack,
But it could also be the Lord.

But then I finally realize,
The one way to be sure
Is to get upon my knees
And talk to God in prayer.

It's He who knows the answers
That I've been looking for -
And truly, it's He who stands outside
Knocking at my door.

I fling the door wide open
And embrace Him lovingly.
Though happy, I have to ask Him,
"Have you forsaken me?".

"I've been here all along", said He.
"Your burdens, I'd gladly bear".
"Yet I've been waiting for you to come to me"
"But you were never there".

"I've stood here all the while",
"Waiting with outstretched arms",
"To lift you up & guide you"
"And lead you through life's storms".

"Though I tried to offer guidance",
"You chose to stand alone"
"And face the trials by yourself",
"For you thought you were strong".

When He was finished speaking,
I had to hide my head -
For I could have trusted Jesus,
But I walked alone instead.

Through all the pain I went through,
I gained wisdom that I can share:
The Lord comes first in everything,
And He is ALWAYS there.

Great trials & temptations
Still taunt me now & then - 
But now the coping's easier,
For I have Jesus as a Friend.

I now can stand in strength,
Against temptations & trials hurled,
For "greater is He that is in me"
"Than he that is in the world"! **

Amen!!

**1 John 4:4

© Cari Kissel 1991