More From Me
Here's a little hymn text in long meter that I wrote last week:
LORD, HELP ME IN MY UNBELIEF
c. Bobby Gilles, 2006
Lord, when I think You’re far away
And will not hear or answer prayer,
When my own heart feels just the same
As when you were not living there,
Then teach me how to doubt no more.
My faith is fragile as a leaf
And my emotions can deceive;
Lord, help me in my unbelief.
Lord, when I cannot prove Your power
And some say You are just a myth,
When I’m reminded of old doubts
That You still reign, that You exist,
Remind me You don’t owe me proof.
You’re not a concept I’ve conceived.
And You are found by those who seek --
Lord, help me in my unbelief.
Lord, in the face of deepest loss
And blinded by my bitter tears,
Heart-broken by what might have been,
A slave to things as they appear --
Then whisper peace into my soul
In midst of pain and piercing grief.
My own perspective’s incomplete.
Lord, help me in my unbelief.
When I suspect You’ve lost control
Or have forsaken what You’ve made,
When children starve both near and far
And love has wilted under hate,
Remind me of Your promises
To make things new; to bring relief.
Tell me to trust eternity.
Lord, help me in my unbelief.
posted by Bobby @ 9:14 AM
13 comments
13 Comments:
Bobby.. I really love this! Espcially these lines in the third part:
A slave to things as they appear --
Then whisper peace into my soul
In midst of pain and piercing grief.
My own perspective’s incomplete.
Lord, help me in my unbelief.
Thanks!
I'm with emily, this is wonderful and so "real" and I'm a big fan of the third stanza also
Bobby, thanks for sharing that. The whole thing is amazing. I especially liked this part of the first stanza:
When my own heart feels just the same
As when you were not living there, Then teach me how to doubt no more.
My faith is fragile as a leaf
And my emotions can deceive;
Lord, help me in my unbelief.
I think a lot of people can relate to these verses. Thanks.
SO what's the word Bobby? You have been posting some deep thought provoking stuff lately.
I really liked it Robert! Rock on...
Thanks everyone.
Charlie, the "when my own heart feels just the same as when You were not living there" is one of my favorite lines because so often we make truth subject to our feelings.
Tom, I will no doubt return to frivolity at some point. What spurred my thinking towards writing this hymn was an article Matt Redman wrote where he asked various theologians what topics they think are missing from modern songs of the Church.
David Peterson said, "My only request would be for more songs taking seriously the struggles of the Christian life ..."
Sally Morgenthaler said, "Dare we imagine a genre of new millennial worship music that doesn't gloss over the doubts, the cynicism or our own humanity? ... T.S. Eliot once said, 'Christians tend to make life neater and tidier than it really is.' "
These comments and the thoughts they led to were swirling in my head as I wrote this song. I wanted to admit where my own faith is lacking and ask God to help me. When I seriously thought about it I realized there are four main areas where doubt creeps in: When my subjective feelings get in the way, when I am confronted by scientific opinions or reasoned arguments against the veracity of Scripture, when I personally experience a loss, and when I look at the world and all the evil in it. So I developed a verse for each.
werd!
I have to say that my ol' editor Lorie went beyond her usual editing tasks, and should be given a cowriting credit with me.
She re-ordered the verses and a couple of lines, and changed up some words so it would flow more smoothly. It's sharper, more focused. All the changes work, both from a theological and a poetic standpoint. So I suppose we'll be splitting those massive royalty checks.
Cool I like supporting local people...so where so I send my two cents...literally muahahahahahahah
That would be one to me, one to him. We're equal opportunity co-writers. Those are the best kind.
But make sure my penny is shinier so I have something to gloat about.
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