The words in the video below cry “Disturb Us Lord!”. Come disturb us – when we are too safe, too distracted, too caught-up in the now to “dream of eternity”. Yet unlike some of those early Celtic pilgrims we are unlikely to literally sail out in a coracle into the vast unknown! However, at every stage, circumstance or challenge in our lives we can choose the great adventure. We can choose to trust in God, to give him everything, and allow the Kingdom of Heaven to be poured into us.
Recently a very special man who was part of our home church, an artist and sculptor, lost his battle with Alzheimer’s. He truly encompassed the meaning behind this poem. He and his wonderful family faced “the unknown” and choose to sail with immense courage. He lost so many things in life but never lost his faith, which continued to shine brightly, even in his final days. The strength, love and compassion of his family are a living testimony to the redeeming power of Christ.
Take heart as you sail into the sea of parenting, negotiate the waves of ill health, or navigate the demands of a stressful career. Take courage as you voyage through clouds of depression, tack the shifting waves of anxiety, or confront the darkness of grief. At times such as this we are called to fix our eyes on Jesus, stay soft in heart, and carry the promise of eternity in our hearts.
“…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 2: 1b-2, NIV)
It’s possible to download and keep this film for a small sum by following this link.
prayer in this film:-
Disturb Us Lord
Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
(attributed to Sir Francis Drake -1577)
She knows human really well. Thanks
A very profound prayer.
My wife had been at a dinner last night where an atheist had told a story abut a young girl who is suffering a dreadful and a terminal disease.the woman finished her story asking “how can there be a God, when this sort of thing happens” My wife was lost for suitable words, my reaction was”God does not promise you a rose garden” the poem does much,but what is a quick appropriate retort?
Dear Ken, You know, I don’t think there is really a swift and concise way to answer this question…..it is something that we all wrestle with…. and the best we can do sometimes is to just journey with others in these questions. God is love and I have no doubt in my heart that he would long to step in, to bring healing and restoration. I have truly seen some amazing miracles when faith filled prayers have been answered. Yet I do not understand why sometimes there is an outpouring of power, and at other times not… and I am coming to understand that we are to fix our eyes on heaven and worship, study and cry out on all occasions!! And I can imagine that Christ knows all we suffer in depth, yet also knows the breath and beauty of Eternity! What I do know is that walking with Christ, with the Holy spirit at work within us is the place of peace, of light ,of hope and of love…… So all we can do is be real… be honest, when these difficult questions arise.I have found that this realness will only connect with others, it will comfort those who suffer to be heard and carried in prayer, and I always lead people back to the amazingness of unconditional love!!! “We don’t yet see things clearly, we are squinting in a fog peering through a mist, but it wont be long until the sun shines bright, we will see it all clearly then, as clearly as God sees us, knowing him completely, Just as he knows us, but until that day we have three things to do to lead us towards that consummation….trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly and love extravagantly, and the best of the three is Love”…1 Corinthians 13. Hope that helps, you are doing the right thing just to walk with others and love them as Christ would.