Count It All Joy?

There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.
- Willa Cather

Count It All Joy?

Psalms in the Night…

With so many wonderful Biblical promises and powerful examples of God's interaction with mankind, see Psalms of Delight, Psalms in the Night are a way of exploring and sharing some of the difficult and challenging thoughts, feelings and experiences God's people encounter while endeavoring to fully enjoy His presence and power, protection and provision. In ever more genuine and meaningful ways. For themselves and their children, family and friends.

Psalms in the Night are written in concert with Psalms of Delight. Both series contain Modern Psalms meant to comfort and inspire those seeking the Omni-God revealed in Scripture.

Count It All Joy? Summary

Psalms in the Night by Robert R. Pennington

Throughout history, those relying on the reasonableness of faith have faced a myriad of challenges. Accustomed to hardship, New Testament authors each took pains to explain that troubles and trials are to be expected obstacles along the path of growing in godliness. Unfortunately overcoming adversity, much less being happy about it, is far easier said and sung, than joyfully done.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

- Romans 12:12 NIV

Count It All Joy?
Modern Psalm in the Night 27

There are many reasons we Christians today avoid the topic of joyful suffering. We laud Jesus’ anguish and sorrows, as well as those of Your faithful martyrs, but when it comes to our own lives, we have something far less problematic in mind. Such a mindset arises in part from the phenomenal quantity and quality of 1st World blessings we daily enjoy. Additionally there’s Scripture’s promise of Your love and faithfulness, mercy and goodness.

This is not to say we don’t suffer from doubts arising from a variety of important issues with God. Yet such unparalleled advancements, coupled with the hope of Heaven, serve to mitigate our concerns. So long as our wobbly faith remains untried. A condition exemplified in the poem “When I Became A Christian” by Adrain Plass:

When I became a Christian I said, Lord, now fill me in,
Tell me what I’ll suffer in this world of shame and sin.
He said, your body may be killed, and left to rot and stink,
Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen – I think.
I think Amen, Amen I think, I think I say Amen,
I’m not completely sure, can you just run through that again?
You say my body may be killed and left to rot and stink,
Well, yes, that sounds terrific, Lord, I say Amen – I think.

But, Lord, there must be other ways to follow you, I said,
I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed.
Well, yes, he said, you could put up with the sneers and scorn and spit,
Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen – a bit.
A bit Amen, Amen a bit, a bit I say Amen,
I’m not entirely sure, can we just run through that again?
You say I could put up with sneers and also scorn and spit,
Well, yes, I’ve made my mind up, and I say, Amen – a bit.

Well I sat back and thought a while, then tried a different ploy,
Now, Lord, I said, the Good book says that Christians live in joy.
That’s true he said, you need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow,
So do you want to follow me, I said, Amen – tomorrow.
Tomorrow, Lord, I’ll say it then, that’s when I’ll say Amen,
I need to get it clear, can I just run through that again?
You say that I will need the joy, to bear the pain and sorrow,
Well, yes, I think I’ve got it straight, I’ll say Amen – tomorrow.

He said, Look, I’m not asking you to spend an hour with me
A quick salvation sandwich and a cup of sanctity,
The cost is you, not half of you, but every single bit,
Now tell me, will you follow me? I said Amen – I quit.
I’m very sorry Lord I said, I’d like to follow you,
But I don’t think religion is a manly thing to do.
He said forget religion then, and think about my Son,
And tell me if you’re man enough to do what he has done.

Are you man enough to see the need, and man enough to go,
Man enough to care for those whom no one wants to know,
Man enough to say the thing that people hate to hear,
To battle through Gethsemane in loneliness and fear.
And listen! Are you man enough to stand it at the end,
The moment of betrayal by the kisses of a friend,
Are you man enough to hold your tongue, and man enough to cry?
When nails break your body-are you man enough to die?
Man enough to take the pain, and wear it like a crown,
Man enough to love the world and turn it upside down,
Are you man enough to follow me, I ask you once again?
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said Amen.
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen; Amen, Amen, Amen,
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said, Amen.

The ploy we use to navigate our anemic spiritual condition is maximizing Christ’s cross to the point of minimizing, if not totally eliminating our own. Given Jesus’ inconceivably costly atonement it’s easy to do, yet there’s simply no denying that throughout the New Testament You direct believers to embrace hardship to the point of giving thanks even in the midst of distress:

“Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” Mark 8:34-35 NIV

“And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 NIV

“Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him. And if anyone enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully (fairly, according to the rules laid down).” 2 Timothy 2:3-5 AMP

“Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange (unusual and alien to you and your position) were befalling you. But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, so that when His glory [full of radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may also rejoice with triumph [exultantly].” 1 Peter 4:12-13

Passages describing such radical discipleship go well above and beyond the scope of Churchianity’s easy believism and cheap grace. Even when given occasional lip service, growing levels of prayerlessness and Biblical illiteracy are so pandemic among “believers” as to reveal we have little taste for minimal Christian disciplines much less the rigors of righteousness. So too goes our concern for the poor. Rather than heed Christ’s warnings in the Rich Young Ruler and Rich Man and Lazarus and use our prosperity and position to “serve one another” instead it would seem like Samson we’ve been seduced by the allure of worldly wisdom and wealth.

Beyond innumerable sins of omission, we’ve got plenty of red in our ledger. From gross immorality to well over a billion abortions, on our watch morality’s been inverted and the womb turned into the most dangerous place on earth. Through a devilishly cunning and diabolical strategy, sins of entitlement and Me-ism have become ubiquitous. Unthankfulness and rebellion, all but synonymous with modern life, are incrementally yet relentlessly devastating Churchianity, not to mention humanity, and all at the bidding of an unseen global network of evil. More tragic still, such unprecedented spiritual reversals are not the result of modern Christianity having fought and failed, but rather having failed to fight.

By their nature such harsh indictments appear the denunciations of a self proclaimed prophet, but You know they’re not. If anything, these confessions are more the lamentations of a broken hearted and fearful priest. Laying a foundational for repentance, they’re the only sure stepping stones on which to approach You, an unmitigated consuming fire whom we nevertheless have, are and continue to doubt, grieve and offend.

Therefore, having lain the groundwork, I ask permission to speak freely before Your thrown of grace to obtain mercy in this darkening day of growing need. To carefully and prayerfully remind Omnity of what You know so well. That while we stand before You utterly condemned for our sin, particularly my generation and the next in First World Nations and beyond and are without excuse, even our behavior is not without explanation. For it is written that he formally known as Lucifer or in Hebrew הילל בן־שׁחר Helel Ben-Shachar, who stands accusing and condemning us, first tempted and deceived us after having led a myriad of angels astray. Ancient, holy and glorious angels from Heaven above. To which end I would ask what chance do we have dear God to stand against so great an Adversary, his army and demonic resistance given that by comparison the entire human race was born yesterday and dies tomorrow balanced if and when at all on toes of flesh. Praying if and when at all as lungs expel air strumming vocal cords to the tune of two to three pounds of decaying brain matter, what’s to become of us without an unprecedented global outpouring of Your Spirit's presence and power, provision and protection?

So having briefly described the odds stacked against us by sin above, about and within, the question becomes how can we reasonably hope for the further gift of being filled to overflowing with Your Spirit, and thus giving thanks for the ability to walk in Your kingdom’s power within and without, when what we’re meriting seems to be Divine discipline and judgment?

As always, using the authority of Scripture as our guide, Jesus offers some encouragement:

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Then he said, “Imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. An old friend traveling through just showed up, and I don’t have a thing on hand.’ “The friend answers from his bed, ‘Don’t bother me. The door’s locked; my children are all down for the night; I can’t get up to give you anything.’ “But let me tell you, even if he won’t get up because he’s a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he’ll finally get up and get you whatever you need.” Luke 11:5-10 MSG

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:11-13 NIV

Here, as in the parable of the Persistant Widow, while it might well be implied, there is no direct mention of extreme sanctification or radical discipleship. The focal points are an honest assessment of need (i.e. understanding, access, food) combined with determined requests (i.e. ask, seek and knock) expressed through a purposeful relationship (i.e. father, son, friend). This is not to negate a myriad of verses explaining the conditionality of free gifts such as answered prayer, or even salvation. My quantum hope is that in compassionate understanding of the frailty and dualism of the human condition, You might lower the bar for modern day would-be disciples as Jesus did in response to Peter’s denial and 2nd Great Confession.

I ask Omniscience to remember that unlike our Adversary, we are for the most part spiritual blind, deaf and dumb. Soulish spirits in bloody meatcycles on skeletal sticks, we are 'fearfully and wonderfully made' yet with little or no serious concern over the demands of our Creator and Savior to be obedient, productive and thankful. And this, even though for the most part we are born between feces and urine and for all our pomp will die as dogs. Nevertheless, it is written that even we might become beloved stardust, “heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ.” “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but “have everlasting life.’”

Yet unless something drastic’s done and quickly won’t perishing be the net effect for billions upon billions? So my question is what’s Omnity thinking in regards to our growing spiritual insensitivity and impasse? In light of the primary problem of heaven’s historic angelic rebellion spilling over onto and shaping our own, can’t something more be done?

I appreciate at least some of the more obvious Kingdom principals in play. Christ’s incarnation and ministry, atonement and resurrection, ascension and intercession, gift of the Holy Spirit and Second Advent should clearly be more than enough. The Gospel’s playbook, calling for the transformation of believers into new creations having the laws of God written on their hearts should have positioned us down field and ready to score. So how did modern Christianity end up on the sideline of our own end-zone watching the inversion of morality in a single generation?

Directed and empowered to rise above and fulfill God’s law, how have we so fallen from grace as allow apathy and worse to move us from martyrs to murders? For example having aborted 5-10 times the world’s population in Christ’s day in just the last half decade? And this with few if any the wiser? Little wonder Peter warns:

“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.” 1 Peter 4:17-19 NIV

Tragically, the last thing we’re ready to do is to suffer for righteousness. Not only are modern Christians falling like flies during the silence before the storm, the most prosperous time in human history, but the vast majority of the rest of us may be continually crossing forbidden lines with little or no sense of foreboding.

While our problems are many Your solution should solve them all at once. What we need is total transformation of spirit, soul and body from mere mortals to “Christ-ians”

“But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?” Romans 7:21-24 MSG

“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?” 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 NIV

“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].” Romans 12:1-2 AMP

As discussed in various GB articles, being totally heavenly minded makes perfect sense from an eternal perspective. For Omnity and those You choose to enlighten, exchanging a few frustrating earthly years for an eternity of inconceivable joy’s a no brainer. Sadly, for those of us without the benefit of such supernatural revelation, besieged without and within while plodding through time at the rate of a second per second’s no easy task.

Take Paul whom I’m quoting. Not only was Saul’s conversion into Paul the product of repeated signs and wonders (Stephen’s Martyrdom and Road to Damascus) but his ministry was continually guided and empowered by no less than 14 more recorded miraculous interventions including:

Crippled man at Lystra is healed. "And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother's womb, who had never walked. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Stand up straight on your feet! And he leaped and walked" [Acts 14:8-10].

Elymas the sorcerer is blinded by Paul for a season. "But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, 'O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time'. And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. [Acts 13:8-11].

Deliverance of girl with a spirit of divination. "Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, 'These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation'. And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her'. And he came out that very hour" [Acts 16:16-18].

"Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them [Acts 19:11-12].

Restoring life to Eutychus after fall. "And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, 'Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him'[Acts 20:9-10].

Paul Is Unharmed by a Viper. "But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, 'No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.' But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm" [Acts 28:3-5, Mark 16:18].

Healing of Publius' Father. "In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed" [Acts 28:7-9].

Paul prophesies to ship owners, "Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives"[Acts 27:10]. Paul prophesies again no loss of life during violently storm [Acts 27:22, See complete passage Acts 27:10-44].

Paul and Silas released from prison. "But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed" [Acts 16:20-34]. See additional Supernatural Acts of the Apostles

No doubt theses are only the tip of the iceberg of Your demonstrations of power in and through the chief of sinners transformed into the greatest of apostles. Hardly the happenings of a “mere man.”

James, Christ’s younger half brother’s another great case in point. By far the most practical of all the New Testament writers, it’s easy to see why after his conversion the Apostles honored James, who had lived with Jesus every day for nearly three decades, with oversight of the First Church Council of Jerusalem. Of course prior to the resurrected Jesus appearing to James he was nowhere to be found! In fact, so conspicuous was his absence that Jesus was forced to place their mother Mary in the care of His disciple John.

So like Paul, James’ metamorphosis was not by words (not even hearing those of Jesus for 30 years) but by Your power as Paul testifies “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” Yet while Scripture makes it crystal clear that both the fruit and gifts of Your Spirit are intended as much for the 21st century as the 1st, any record of modern Christianity would at best be be entitled “The Book of Words” and more often than not, not even the right ones.

Having finished with the apologetics here’s my principal point. Both in Paul’s great prayer in Ephesians and thought the epistle of James, they along with all other New Testament authors and icons espouse such a holy and sanctified lifestyle that while literally possible, it is for all practical purposes improbable as exemplified by their own failures and spiritual insensitivity prior Your powerful and repeated revelatory interventions.

Throughout decades of prayer over this issue I’ve oft been reminded that one of the many reasons for such empowerment was as preparation for and encouragement to endure a commensurate degree of suffering and tribulation. As Paul explains:

“For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.” 1 Corinthians 4:9-13 NIV

“Since you admire the egomaniacs of the pulpit so much (remember, this is your old friend, the fool, talking), let me try my hand at it. Do they brag of being Hebrews, Israelites, the pure race of Abraham? I’m their match. Are they servants of Christ? I can go them one better. (I can’t believe I’m saying these things. It’s crazy to talk this way! But I started, and I’m going to finish.) I’ve worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death’s door time after time. I’ve been flogged five times with the Jews’ thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I’ve been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I’ve had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I’ve been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I’ve known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather. And that’s not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut. If I have to “brag” about myself, I’ll brag about the humiliations that make me like Jesus.” 2 Corinthians 11:21-33 MSG

Such portfolios make complete dedication by means of being carried along by the Holy Spirit a necessity. Yet Paul’s prayer for us is anything but “quit whining and tough if out.” Rather he expectantly and expansively writes:

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21 NKJV

And if I may be sold bold, modern Christianity’s about as far away from being “filled with all the fullness of God” as we can get.

It may be reasonably argued that our current condition is all on us. Who can deny we’ve been given the answers to the prayers of all past generations combined. Or that You’re not willing that any should perish. Yet again I respectively submit that “while we stand before You utterly condemned for our sin, particularly my generation and the next in First World Nations and beyond and are without excuse, even our behavior is not without explanation.” Clearly our ancient and advanced Adversary has proved too cunning for us. Tempting and deceiving us across previously unimaginable lines, such as in the case of abortion, he’s not only ticked us into severing our heavenly connection but is forcing Your hand of justice and judgment to move against Your own church!

Lord I Beseech You. Are we not fearfully and wonderfully made adrift in a fearful and wonderful cosmos on a fearful and wonderful planet living fearful and wonderful lives facing either a fearful or wonderful eternity? Surely our momentary and extremely limited free will is not a rock too heavy for Omnity to lift. Equally sure is that like Christ’s parable of the Friend at Midnight, Heaven’s filled with billions of the pre-born and children who died before the age of accountability, along with a tragically small percentage albeit a massive number of men and women who once walked the earth now enjoying Your pleasures and protection for evermore. What need have You to go to even greater extremes to provide salvation for such a spoiled and apathetic, wicked and perverse generation as my own and those which are coming? Following Jesus’ logic, what’s left but to ask, seek and knock loud enough to raise enough ruckus to wake the neighbors until You finally get up and get us whatever we need.

Again I submit that at least among prophetic Christians, an ounce of prevention (i.e. heavenly revelation and resource) is worth a pound of cure (i.e. radical sanctification and discipleship). The question is will You take the time to encourage those of us who aren’t listening very well to grow into experiencing the more important Kingdom principals, directives capable of wonderfully righting our upside down priorities and lifestyles?

Certainly this would include counting our trails as blessing rather than vice versa:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” James 1:2-8 NIV

Sadly this Kingdom attribute is, for the moment at least, well beyond us. Won’t You please open our eyes, ears and hearts that we might see at least as well as our Enemy? Perhaps a second touch is order for those of us with yet blurry spiritual vision. A modern Christian state of being aptly expressed by the Faith Enough by Clay:

The ice is thin enough for walkin'
The rope is worn enough to climb
My throat is dry enough for talkin'
The world is crumblin' but I know why
The world is crumblin' but I know why

The storm is wild enough for sailing
The bridge is weak enough to cross
This body frail enough for fighting
I'm home enough to know I'm lost
Home enough to know I'm lost

It's just enough to be strong
In the broken places, in the broken places
It's just enough to be strong
Should the world rely on faith tonight

The land unfit enough for planting
Barren enough to conceive
Poor enough to gain the treasure
Enough a cynic to believe
Enough a cynic to believe

Confused enough to know direction
The sun eclipsed enough to shine
Be still enough to finally tremble
And see enough to know I'm blind
And see enough to know I'm blind

Just imagine how different modern Christianity could be if You revived the remnant of the remnant to the point that we could once again see and believe enough to “count it pure joy…” Then empowered, these could revive the remnant, and together Churchianity and beyond… No that would be something to rejoice over.

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