They come to me with sage advice,
Believing their words originate from some holy paradise,
They try to calm my fears,
While comforting me through my tears;
And what they say sounds rich and deep,
But ultimately, it comes off really cheap.
I know they mean well, and they try,
But when they leave me, I just want to cry.
There is no hate, there is no malice,
There’s just religious piety wrapped in something very callous.
Their words of hope ring loud and clear,
but quickly fade and disappear.
And all I want to do is hiss,
When I hear them say, “God’s got this!”
Paul endured a lot of pain,
His apostleship was defined by such a bane.
When God appeared on the Damascus Road,
The Light of his presence around him glowed.
Through the blindness Paul endured,
And this was plain that God assured;
Paul’s life was only going to get rougher,
Now that he was told how much he must suffer.
And suffer now did Paul experience,
As if something descended on him that was mysterious.
For everywhere that Paul did travel,
It felt just like his life might unravel.
And never once in his own abyss,
Did he ever say, “God’s got this!”
To the Corinthians he wrote a letter,
Maybe hoping for something better;
Since the church was taking steps to silence Paul with a muzzle,
Finding Paul’s painful experience quite a puzzle.
They believed that God works through the strong, the brave, and the bold,
So discarding Paul and his ministry was just calculated and cold.
Paul, they said, was rarely eloquent or smooth with his words,
Sounding more like one of those ear piecing birds.
So they turned their backs on him,
Leaving the situation grim.
Looking instead to people who promised more than they delivered,
Never contemplating how they should have reconsidered.
Still off the mark will the arrow miss,
If you tell me that somehow, “God’s got this!”
“Comfort, comfort my people” was Isaiah’s cry,
And comfort was Paul’s message for us to comply.
God comforts people,
Playing no favorites as he extends compassion to all in measure that is equal;
Those to whom God comfort,
Are those who feel the discomfort.
Only those needing comfort,
Are the ones who come first.
Those who receive comfort are the weak,
Whom Jesus refers to as the meek;
They are the vulnerable,
And in their outcast they are the miserable;
They are the broken,
And from them something has been stolen;
Like shivering in the cold,
God’s comfort will never be held on hold.
And if all this boils down to some rising mist,
Is it suffice to say, “God’s got this!”?
Life is like a clay jar,
Appropriate, since life leaves us with nothing but a scar;
It feels like we are . . . Disposable
Fragile
Expendable
Cheap
Valueless
Thrown-away
Breakable
Worthless
Discarded
Frail
Inexpensive
Replaceable
Unwanted
And for all of this it is true
As we want to throw in the towel because we’re through.
But God places a treasure within us,
The gospel – a piece of himself – in the form of Jesus;
The strength to endure suffering and pain,
Is found within the precious Name;
So don’t think that I’m a little remiss,
When you tell me, “God’s got this!”
Paul is honest about the toll of ministry,
They fudged and shaded the truth, dodging any responsibility.
Paul says, “We are hard pressed on every side,”
They say, “You just never tried.”
Paul says, “We are perplexed,”
They say, “You are surely vexed;”
Paul says, “We are persecuted,”
They say, “For ministry, you are just ill-suited.”
Paul says, “We are struck down,”
They say, “You just exaggerate the crackdown.”
Paul says that we carry around in us Christ’s death,
So that others might experience life through his breath.
And even if their words are meant to us they diss,
Paul never wrote, “God’s got this!”
To be sure, life is hard,
and will often leave you scarred;
If you are not careful,
the consequence to your soul can be dreadful;
Sometimes the punches taken can feel like it’s from that Boxer, Ali,
Since they float like a butterfly, and certainly sting like a bee.
And who has the heart to go on,
And who has not been tempted to withdraw, like was done at Saigon?
Should we just raise the Flag of Surrender,
And forsake all hope of dignity and splendor?
Or do we say how we will not lose heart,
And believe that ever morning we begin with a brand new start?
For out there someone will want to deceive,
Because they want us to believe,
And their words will come to us as a kiss,
When they tell us, “God’s got this!”
We will not be discredited,
But some of our theology needs re-edited;
So no stumbling block will be placed in their way,
Though some opinions I do wish to sway.
If it is faith that takes great endurance,
God instills within us a blessed assurance.
We face troubles, hardships, and distress,
And beatings, riots, hunger, and sleepless nights, if I must confess;
And the stamina it takes is like those of a marathoner,
Who competes against false rumors, slander, and dishonor.
For the burden of enduring the assault brings sorrow,
Though we look to the breaking of the sunrise tomorrow.
And you can dress it up in some sort of fritz,
But never do we find, “God’s got this!”
So one by one Paul stands in his boast,
And will present to the church the things he counts the most.
In his bragging, as we will count each one,
Hoping all other bragging will finally be done.
Multiple times has Paul has been arrested and placed in prison,
He brings this up because the issue has arisen;
His skin shows signs of abuse,
His body broken from the misuse,
To his floggings,
To the rods used to beat him,
To the Jews law of “forty lashes minus one,”
And from the time he was left to die after a stoning,
And all this was unleashed on him with no excuse.
He was in danger,
From those he thought were friends to those who saw as a stranger,
Danger from crossing rivers or flooded waters;
Danger from bandits, who rob, steal, and kill;
Danger from his own countrymen, who accuse him of breaking the Law;
Danger from the Gentiles, who won’t give up their pagan ways;
Danger from the city, where power structures are in place;
Danger from the country, because wild animals roam;
Danger from the sea, where he was shipwrecked at least four times,
Danger from false brothers, who pretend to be friendly and faithful,
Because the message he preached wasn’t him being an entertainer.
Paul labored, and toiled, and went without sleep,
Since what he was in him came from his own deep.
So Paul will boast about the things that show him weak,
Every time someone levels at him some critique.
Which is why he will choose to dismiss,
When he hears someone say, “God’s got this!”
But Paul had an “out of the body” experience,
Where he was led into heaven – something quite serious;
He witnessed visions, inexpressible things, and revelations,
Which left him without a voice or any citations.
And because he stepped into paradise, he was given a thorn,
Which would have caused other people to mourn.
He begged, he pleaded, and prayed for God to take it away,
Or at least to keep this torment at bay.
Instead, God promised Paul something more,
Something for him to explore.
God offered Paul grace,
So Paul has the freedom to live and to minister in such a space.
But even more, God rained on the apostle a great shower,
So that when Paul is weak, God gives him his power.
So God does not take the situation away,
When we beg and plead to him and pray;
And God does not mysteriously take over,
Even if he does draw himself closer.
God is the power source for us to endure,
a source for us to plug into that is secure.
So that when we are so frail and weak,
That we are driven to our knees when the outcome looks bleak;
God draws close to us,
And with endurance that empowers us,
For now we know that “God dwells within us,”
Only brings a new premise,
For me to say in all boldness and confidence and promises,
That with God living in me, I can say,
“We’ve got this!”
Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e., only God is glorified!)