[i] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:[/i] Oh GodHow real You areYour very absence proves itWhen in former days my soul Understood by closenessNow it understands by distanceA breachBy disobedienceCreated a gulfA separationRepentanceAs reflexHow could I notAnd forgivenessPainfulThat it needed to be soughtYour grace is sufficientYet presumption?No, be it far from meCan I assuageMy guiltBy dishonest gainBy being swayedEven with thatWhich is trueWho is it that saves?Who is it that restores?Who is it that speaks?Who is it that ...Is SovereignAnd dictatesSurroundingsAnd circumstanceWho createsAnd changesThe very atmosphereIt is not abstractDo we not knowBoth Your PresenceAs Your absence?Do we not know changeIn the seasonsIn natureAnd in Your movementsThrough Your peopleWho are called by Your NameLast weekAnd yesterdays dealingsAnd importanceSeems far removedBut not the lessonsAnd the questions comeBy a breachAn interruptionA signal failureSinIt cannot be retractedAnd the accuser standsAccusingI know itMy soul knows itIt is my offenseAgainst TheeAnd shall IBe offended?That there beSilence?Or the noiseOf the enemyShall over runAnd over take me?What good is theAdvice of a liarWho can still on occasionSpeak the truthTwisted as it may beAnd for selfish motiveTo drag back to destructionTo draw back to perditionTo appeal to the passing pleasures of sinTo accuse by facts?To tattle on and toHim who knows it alreadyWho knows all menSurely this is butBarking up the wrong treeAnd so I was and amInconsolableNot without hopeNor by accusationI will not even judge myselfFor it is by poor judgmentIt is unfathomableTo latch on to excuseOr cast towards blameMy soul knows itThe Lord knows itI will waitOn the LordAnd wait foreverFor You aloneO LORD God of Israel, Thou art righteous: For we remain yet escaped, As it is this day: Behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: For we cannot stand before thee because of this.And I know this as wellThat You will not cast off foreverFor transgressionThat is repentedSuch a loveThe world does not knowNor does it understandThough all day longYou hold forth Thy hands
_________________Mike Balog