Control

Beginning again but we’ll try

something new

We should have started this way before.

In our hearts we know more than our minds can imagine

That’s why we attempt this once more.

In our hearts is a voice that says,

“Listen to Me.”

But our mind says, “I know what I’ll do!”

We start out again to arrange

things our way

In the end it’ll look misconstrued.

Everyone who will turn

and will give us the time

Can easily see what we’ve done

Perhaps not out loud,

but they’ll laugh when they see

For we’re right where

we’d thought we’d begun.

“Try again,” we’ll feel prompted

and sigh and sit down

And we’ll try it a new way today.

Once again in our hearts

that ol’ tugging we’ll feel

As God prompts us to do things His Way.

But our head tells us differently,

“Try it like this!”

And our heart tries so hard to chime in.

But it knows deep inside

that this way will not work

And we’re doomed to repeat it again.

So the struggle is getting our mind to obey

What we know in our hearts we should do.

For our mind says to do things

the way of our past

And our heart says,

“Let’s try out the new!”

In the past we were sinners

so lost in our way

But then Jesus came into our heart.

But we’re trapped in the ways that our minds used to think

Forgetting we get a new start.

So first we must stop and just listen to God

And determine what He has to say,

If we take time to pray about all that we do

We will hear when He tells us His Way.

The instructions He gives us may not

sound quite right

But that’s where our faith must come in.

If instead we turn back and search out

our own way

That’s not only dumb, it is sin!

So to add to the problems of doing our task

Planning out the right path we should take,

We drag in a bag that we can’t even see,

The conscience convictions we make.

Now the planning gets harder

and harder each time

And the grip of our sin just gets tighter,

If our minds would just stop

and try listening to God

We would find that the burden gets lighter.

But our mind is accustomed

to being in charge

And our hearts have to fight tooth and nail.

For our heart knows a joy it is dying to share

But our minds dig up fears that we’ll fail.

So we struggle with words like,

“Renewing our mind,”

And it tears us apart at the soul.

But the secret is simple,

our hearts know it well

~Give up and give Jesus control!

~Helen Williams! c 2002