OH, WHAT I WOULD GIVE

Oh, what I would give

To be in the garden

Enjoying heaven’s delicacies

Reveling in heaven’s freedom

Exempt from toiling; 

Continuing in God’s presence interminably,

Uninterrupted; dawn to dusk.

Like Adam and Eve.

♥

Oh, what I would give,

To have unwavering faith; to take God at His word

To be willing to obey God even when the path is hazy

To have the holy patience to wait on God’s promise

And be willing to give it back the minute He asks

Trusting that I am safe in His hands

And His plans are to prosper me,

Like Abraham.

♥

Oh, what I would give,

To have the boldness to go for what I want

Without holding back

To wrestle with God Himself and get a blessing

To not give up; no matter what

To have my name changed

To be forgiven

To love purely and relentlessly

Like Jacob.

♥

Oh what I would give

To dream and believe

To have a clean record

With no faults

To forgive despite the pain and hurt

To be as highly favored

As loved

As presence filled

As Joseph.

♥

Oh what I would give

To see God face to face

To catch a glimpse of His glory

And have a permanent glow

That no cosmetic alteration can achieve

To perform signs and wonders,

To fight for people’s rights,

To do it afraid and terrified

To be used by God all the days of my life

Like Moses, the first human rights activist

♥

Oh, what I would give,

To have a heart of worship

To have the holy patience to wait years for what is already mine

To have the holy humility to go back to tending sheep

After being anointed king

To have the courage to fight the giant

Even when the odds are against me

Even when no one believes in me

Like David.

♥

Oh what I would give,

To have the courage to say no

To everything that is not of God

To have the courage to go through fire

Praising and worshipping

Believing that the fourth man is with me

To have the faith to believe that God will come through

And the humility to accept that even if He doesn’t

He would still be God

Like Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego.

♥

Oh what I would give,

To be forgiven of the gravest sin

To graciously endure persecution 

For God’s sake

To fearlessly preach the gospel

Unashamed

And be willing to die for it

To be so content with having Jesus

In every circumstance,

Like Paul.

♦

But like Eve, I have fallen for deception

Like Cain, I have gotten jealous

Like Sarah, I have doubted God’s promise

Like Lot’s wife, I have disobeyed the simplest instructions

Like the people of Israel, I have quickly forgotten all God has done

Like Saul, I have let pride in a couple times

Like Jonah, I have ran from God’s assignment

And like Peter, I have denied God.

♦

I hear God remind me

Child,

Jacob was a deceiver from birth

Moses did not want to be used in the first place

David loved his women a little bit too much

And Paul very much killed Christians before he met me

And that didn’t make them any less qualified

To be used by me.

Sarah’s doubt didn’t stop me from keeping my word

And Peter became the rock on which I built the church.

♦

Like Adam and Eve, I am always in His presence

Like Abraham, He has blessed me immensely

Like Jacob, He has changed my name; to blessed and loved

Like Joseph, I am highly favored

My dreams are valid and my destiny is sure.

Because Jesus tore the veil

I can see Him face to face

I have the permanent glow of His presence

"Here I am Lord" (Isaiah 6:8)

God doesn’t need you flawless or perfect

He doesn’t need you qualified

He doesn’t even need you ready

He just needs you willing.

Willing to obey and say yes

Even when the path is hazy

Willing to lay everything aside

And take up His cross

Willing to suffer for His sake

Willing to die to self

And have him live through you.

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." (2 Peter 1:3)