How did you feel, Grandpa Noah
Building your boat out of wood,
While the world mocked you through those centuries,
For things not yet understood?
How did you feel?
Well, you built it in faith and obedience
Doing as God told you to.
So I guess you must have felt pretty good,
Even though only God trusted you.
How did you feel, Mr Abram,
Leaving your homeland behind,
To journey on to a new land,
That you were yet to find?
How did you feel?
Well, you stepped out in faith in the Living God,
And journeyed at His command.
So I guess you must have felt pretty good,
As you looked for the Promised Land.
How did you feel, Mr Moses,
When you got to the deep Red Sea,
The Egyptians were hot in pursuit
And there was just no-where to flee?
How did you feel?
Well, you got there by faith in Jehovah,
And you let him lead you all there,
So you looked for a miracle right on the spot.
Your heart no-one could scare.
Then, how did you feel, Mr Moses,
When the people demanded bread
And the wilderness left them all hungry
And your followers wanted you dead?
How did you feel?
Well, you knew the God of Salvation,
Who had called you to His side.
So you spoke words of faith and deliverance
And God wonderfully supplied.
How did you feel, Mr Joshua,
As you walked around that wall,
Keeping silent, grim procession,
Waiting for it to fall?
How did you feel?
Well, you did it in faith in Jehovah,
Just the way He told you to,
So you must have expected the walls to fall
And your army to run straight through.
How did you feel, Elijah,
As before the King you stood
And said the rain would stay in the sky
As long as you said it should?
How did you feel?
Well, you said it in faith in the Lord God
And you spoke it as His word
So I guess you must have felt pretty good
Obeying what you had heard.
Then, How did you feel, Elijah,
Telling that widow to cook
When she just had enough for one last meal
Which you went ahead and took?
How did you feel?
You did it in faith in Jehovah,
And you knew that He led you there,
And you knew this challenge would come to good
And bring to her God’s care.
How did you feel, Lord Jesus,
As you thought of Your final breath
On the cross where You’d die as You hung in the sky
And lose Yourself to death.
How did you feel?
Well, we know that it must have been agony
And we know of Your desperate plea,
But we also know of Your final resolve
To trust God for victory.
How do I feel at this moment,
When problems loom in my face
And the situation seems quite grim
Since I’m doomed to lose this race?
How do I feel?
I choose to trust in the Living God
And believe Him to win for me
So I stir up my faith and I choose to press on
Knowing God will set me free!
I declare that I am a victor
Even though I’m under the gun
And I sing songs of praise as my voice I raise
For Jesus has already won!
Today is my day of deliverance
Tomorrow will dawn anew,
For God’s on my side and His blessings abide
And He will bring me through.
I’m encouraged by Noah and Abram,
And Moses and David and all,
Who faced off with death, and used their last breath
To cry out the victory call.
The Lord is my hope and my stay
Even without hopeful sign
For He is the God of all miracles
And all of those can be mine.
I find in each challenging hour
When hope just has lost all chance
That God comes through beyond all my dreams
And causes my feet to dance.
So I praise You my God and my Saviour
For deliverance from this hour
And for proof that there is a Living God
Of miracle-working power.
I praise You for grace for one such as me
Who doesn’t deserve Your love
And who does not deserve to have things work out
Yet You grace me from above.
Comments
I wrote this poem in June 2006 when I was confronted with an unexpected and challenging financial problem. At first I was winded by the situation and so I looked to the Lord and pressed in to find a platform for my faith to stand on, from God’s Word.
One of my biggest challenges was initially my own “feelings”. I had to harness my emotions and press through the various reactions they wanted to give in to. So that’s why this poem addresses the question, “How did you feel?”
This poem is very personal, in that it springs from my own desperation and personal struggle. I share it with you to encourage you to press through in faith.
“What happened in your case?” You ask. Well, I did not have a sudden deliverance, although I certainly prayed for one. I had to change my plans, tighten my belt, adjust my lifestyle and hold on to the Lord. The season of challenge stretched on beyond what I thought I could ever endure, and here I am having survived it all. Praise God for His keeping power.
The Apostle Paul said, I know how to abound and how to be abased. I have come now to a deeper appreciation of the limitations which abasement brings. But I have also had my attention redirected to the issues of God’s Kingdom, rather than my own material and economic plans. Susan and I feel much freer from material things than we have before.
I pray that the Lord pick you up and carry you through your seasons of challenge as He did with us. But I also pray that you harness your emotions and get on with “Business as Usual”, which is what God asked us to do. My ministry has grown and people have been blessed, because we looked past our own situation and got on with God’s business. May you also do the same!
Tags: crash of 2008, financial crisis, how do you feel, poem, Poetry
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