Make Something Out Of Nothing

When labour comes to an end,
And effort bears no fruit,
When vigor drains,
And the intellect fails,
When words do not impress
And thoughts do not matter,
When bones begin to ache,
And the heart lies heavy with grief,
When the mind desires silence,
And the man longs for sleep,
You will begin your work
And make something out of nothing.

-Samuel Godfrey George

The Humble Truth

Unblessed and unloved child of Man,
What is the purpose of your life?
Diseased and broken, you are shunned by many.
Can one afford to take notice of you without profiting from you?
Can one give to you without expecting a reward in Heaven or on this earth?
Can one give to you without feeling good about oneself?
This world is stunned by the brilliance of Man’s creations,
Precious things consume its attention.
How then can it acknowledge you?
How then can it know that in your ugliness lies divine beauty?
For in your sorry face lie the lineaments of God,
And in your destitute heart glows the Spirit of the Most High.
Precious things consume the attention of the world.
How then can it acknowledge the humble truth that you represent?

-Samuel Godfrey George

Lord, It Is Time To Speak To You

Lord, it is time to speak to you,
It is time to enter into a never-ending conversation with you.
May my speech be silent, may it be simple,
May I pour out my soul, may I not hide the smallest truth.
Let me turn away from all that distracts,
May I not be overwhelmed by the smile, or destroyed by the sneer.
Let all the voices drown; let all the cares be cast away.
May I be lost with you, may I be eternally lost with you.

Lord, I have tasted sweetness, and endured bitterness.
I have glutted on the forbidden fruit in full view of your searching eyes.
I have journeyed into darkness, and returned utterly destroyed.
I have desecrated the temple, and disfigured the one that lives within.
I return to you damaged, knowing that you will undo the damage.
Take hold of me, and be the Father that you are.
I have transgressed enough; now slap me back to my senses.
But no matter what you do, hold me; never let me go.

Speak to me Lord, may my foolish mouth shut up to hear your Truth.
It is your Voice that I long to hear; it is your smile that I desire to see.
It is your censure that will drive me back to my senses.
So rebuke me and strike me with your iron rod,
And then wrap me up in your loving embrace.
Return me to my infancy; return me to my innocence.
May the dreadful past be blotted out, may only the blessed present remain.
May I live the rest of my days in your everlasting embrace,
Speaking to you, and hearing you speak to me.
May our union be never again disturbed; may our love never end.

-Samuel Godfrey George

The Night of Faith

A poem without words,
A life without a soul,
A joy without a smile
Is my life at this moment.
From a parched tongue flows the Living Water,
From an oppressed soul comes the message of liberation,
In darkness glows a compelling Light.

In the din of a thousand questions reigns a terrible silence.
Where have I come? What have I lost?
Is my mind blessed or cursed?
Am I being led by God or the devil?
Who shall possess my soul in the end?
Am I winning or losing? Will I live or die?
Is this madness with purpose?

Why does the Voice not speak?
Why has clarity not prevailed?
Why does the wandering not cease?
When will this recklessness end?
O Lord, I have trodden upon hearts that bleed,
I have destroyed the dreams of love,
Can there be redemption for me?

In your silence I have my answer.
I remember how you blazed across the sky,
And how I pledged my servitude to you.
Years later you came to me again,
And placed your holy hand on my forehead.
And then you descended on me like a dove.
I know who you are; I know what I am.

So I stir from my sleep,
And rise from my darkness,
In the hope that I shall walk into your light some day.
Then the silence will be broken,
The Voice will speak,
And the Spirit will spring forth in joy,
The smile will break out, and the madness will end.

-Samuel Godfrey George

Lord, We Wait

Where are you my Son?
I have been looking for you.
Have you been looking for me?
I look around for you,
But I cannot find you.
Where are you my Son?
My precious one, where are you?

You are a child without a father,
And I am a father without a child.
Are we destined to meet?
Will I ever see your face?
Will I ever speak to you?
Will I ever hear your lips utter the truth
That I long to hear?

Lord, we wait.
A Father waits for his Son;
A Son waits for his Father.
Lord, we wait.

-Samuel Godfrey George

Heaven or Hell

Where can I go but to you?
How can I remain without you?
In your arms, under your wings,
I have forever been even without knowing.
In your embrace I have lain all my life,
Unmindful of your intimate presence.
From head to toe you have kept me secure,
As I carry on this mindless journey,
And live on in reckless folly.
May my remaining days pass in your hands,
May what will be be according to your will.
Heaven or hell, may these eyes close in rest,
Knowing that you are here.

-Samuel Godfrey George

Torn

Shall I dare to go where you lead me,
Or stay where it is comfortable?
Shall I drink deep of your river of trouble,
Or stay and dine with friends?
Shall I be satisfied with your rare smile,
Or crave the approval of this world?
Shall I speak the undesirable truth,
Or sing the numbing songs that people throng to hear?
Shall I die to live for you,
Or live to die in this world?
Shall I be what I desire, and yet fear,
Or shall I be what I am, and yet do not desire?

-Samuel Godfrey George

The Walk

You blazed across the sky,
And I called out to you.
I had not seen you
But I knew you.

I spoke strange words in a strange language,
I swore to serve without knowing how to serve.
I was a child; this was a dream,
And this was a dream that would not go away.

I longed to see your face that day,
How I burned to see my Lord that day!
I looked up at the sky waiting for you,
But you did not come.

You seized me, and then left me.
You set Lucifer on me;
He carried me away to another world,
And I did not resist.

The serpent and I were locked in embrace
When you came back to me.
You called out to me,
And I stirred from my sleep.

You led me out of my hell,
And exposed my darkness.
You tore down my house,
And laid bare my shame.

You struck me in anger,
And embraced me in love.
You filled my foolish head
With wisdom from your mouth.

You took my stammer
And turned it into speech.
You touched my dead nerves
And set them ablaze with zeal.

You filled me with thirst,
And let me drink from your well.
Your living water
Was all that I craved.

In strange haste I turned to your Word,
I could not wait to read all of it.
Everything had to wait
Until I knew the whole of it.

After that I waited in silence,
Inert I sat without purpose.
In my heart was a dream,
And in my soul was a longing.

I was afraid to move
Until you ordered me out.
You took my hand,
And led me out of my hiding.

With you I have gone to strange places,
Said strange words to strange people.
You filled my head with strange ideas,
And made them come alive.

I am not alone,
I will not be abandoned.
Yet my heart fails every time
My boat is rocked.

Yet I will walk on,
You my Lord are exceedingly kind;
Your whisper is my comfort,
Your love washes away my fear.

All that I have is you,
All that I love is you.
Soon a time will come for a sterner test,
Prepare me O Lord.

Prepare your servant
For the times to come.
Never let go of my hand
Until the end.

-Samuel Godfrey George

The Affirmation

Real is the One who came down for me,
True is the Love that laid down its life for me,
My eyes are fixed on my Father, who cares for me,
My heart will be led by my Master, who has paid a price for me,
I will bleed for the Lord who bled for me,
I will remember His Truth in the face of many a lie,
I will listen to His Voice even when it grows faint,
And I shall call Him God though many call Him man.

-Samuel Godfrey George

Koel Dreams

Black Prince of Summer,
Lover of tropical heat,
Warbler of a two-note song,
Delivered in the shrillest voice
Kissed by the Divine Lover,
When He quickened the instinct to sing.
Scorner of earthly cares,
A soul encamped in a feathery body
That will not wilt in the heat
That consumes my human strength.
Determined to sing,
Determined to use the God-given voice,
Determined to send forth a rising praise
To the Author of all music, voice and breath,
May the plodder in faith aspire to be you,
May he never let go of his Koel dreams.

-Samuel Godfrey George

The Voice

You breathed life into my death,
Turned my voicelessness into voice,
And my wordlessness into words.

My voice came to life when I first spoke to you.
My words came to life when I swore to serve you.
I came to life when I came to know you.

You took my voice and filled it with your breath,
You took my words and filled them with your wisdom,
You took me and filled me with your love.

Now I walk with borrowed strength,
Speak borrowed words in a borrowed voice,
So that the One whom I borrowed from may be glorified.

Bless the one whom you have made alive,
Bless the voice that speaks words of life,
Bless those who listen to the voice and receive life.

-Samuel Godfrey George

My Christ is All that I Want

No surprise lurks under the cover,
No consummation slakes the thirst.
The wealth one amasses weighs one down,
The love for power is an endless pain.
The comfort of family is with limits,
Perfect joy and quiet cannot be found there.

When can a wanderer end his quest?
Where can thirst be forever quenched?
What sight fills you with endless joy?
In whose arms will you find eternal rest?

O for a sight of the Christ face,
And I shall live happily forever.
Lasting peace can be found in His eyes,
Everlasting comfort proceeds from His mouth.

O Lord, You are the beauty that I so desire,
In You is the end of all my search.
May my thoughts be entirely about You,
May every word of my mouth be addressed to You,
May the rest of my days pass in communion with You.
May I forever look upon Your face,
And never be satisfied with anything else.

My Christ is all that I want,
He is the only God that I need.

-Samuel Godfrey George

The Wayward Son

You were born among us,
You were raised to be like us,
Why do you not walk with us?
Why do you resist our way?
Are you not what you essentially are?
Are you not your father's son?
Will you not be defined by your mother's beliefs?
Your speech is strange,
Your language is not your own.
You wish to live a life that we cannot imagine.
You speak of a day that may never come.
Out of love we discourage you,
And insist that you do what is acceptable to us.
Will you listen to us?
Will you give us hope or fill us with despair?

-Samuel Godfrey George

The Long Wait

O woman, when will our eyes meet?
When will we acknowledge the truth?
Long I have waited for your inviting arms and holy embrace;
In our blessed union will spring forth the joy of tomorrow.
Wife of my dreams, take me home to my waiting son.
May he welcome me in his loving arms.
May the sweetness of his smile be entirely for my pleasure.
I long to hear his precious lips utter a sacred truth
Long forgotten and long delayed;
May he acknowledge my fatherhood to the world.
May we, the blessed family, come into being;
May the goodness of the Lord grant this precious joy.

-Samuel Godfrey George

The Mission

When will the voice be heard?
When will the directions be given?
When will the relief be felt?
What madness reigns in the head
Of the one in search of purpose!
What will become of him?
The silence is deafening,
His madness goes on.
He must cling to tall promises,
Dream of light in the heart of darkness,
Lay down his inconsequential life,
Bury his wretched desires, spurn the tawdry world,
And allow his heart to be softened by the touch
That helps him minister to an indifferent congregation,
Distracted and overwhelmed by life.
And his heavy humourless work must carry on
With the sole purpose of bringing glory
To the One who gave him all,
Who may also graciously grant him rest.

-Samuel Godfrey George

The Brothers That Never Were

What pain was felt on a rocky bed!
The pain of a lost one I know so well.
A child who laid his head on my breast,
A face so sweet, and so lost in the past.
I hold my brother in my arms,
In shaking embrace, I sob into his ears,
"Do you remember the child who grew up with us,
The boy who used to worship us,
The smile, the warmth, the smell
Of that boy who was a brother to us?"
He nods in tears, as we cling in pain,
And in sorrow a flood breaks out from us.
And then on a rocky bed, I return to this world,
In the trembling memory of brothers that never were.

-Samuel Godfrey George

Rest For The Restless

Not every wrong can be made right,
Not every battle can be fought,
May the restless man in search of perfection rest.
His restlessness robs him of the joy
That lies in the crude imperfect moment.
Let him embrace the moment, and relish the crudity,
And not only will he rest, but also live.

-Samuel Godfrey George

The Thanksgiving

For the still moment,
For the dreams that live,
For the love that breathes,
For the little things that bring gladness,
For the comfort of your voice,
For the strengthening of your touch,
For your love that compels,
Thank you, my lord, thank you.

-Samuel Godfrey George