What to Do When Life Hits a Dead End

Here are two matching poems I created for the sermon last Sunday on Joseph in jail.

Joseph cries out to God:

My burden great, my journey long
I’ve sung the desolation song
I’ve craved the comforts of my home
I’ve tasted bitterness alone
I can take the torment of my brothers
The thought of my lost grieving mother
I’ll endure whispered insenuations
a desperate housewife’s accusations
I can stand amidst the label- slave
The darkness of rejection’s cave
I’ll take all this insanity
But God please don’t abandon me.

God Responds:

I’m here amidst brutal pain
The constant wind and driving rain
I’m here when every sure thing dies
the spoken shame and alibis
I’m here when others say no hope
When doubt destroys your skill to cope.
When everyone abandons you
I won’t. You've got to know it's true,
And if you shake your fist at me
And bow your back defiantly
The sorrow of your words I’ll bare
But rest assured, I’ll still be there.
Nothing you could do or say
would drive my perfect love away
in torment, trials, and sorrows know
I am the God who won’t let go.

Benediction:
And as you go,
may you bloom where you are planted,
knowing that there is a God who meets you where you are
May you rise above shackles,
May you trust in the One who can break the iron rods of your captivity
May you experience the truth,
That God’s love is unconditional and supreme above every work of the devil
May you walk in freedom
through the blood of our holy Savior
totally accepted
totally loved
and free to love
and may the peace of God be with you.

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