A Poem for Difficult Days

Lord, Just today I read
That Paul and Silas were
Stripped and beaten
With wooden whips.
“Again and again the rods
Slashed across their bared backs”
But in their desolate dungeon
Their feet clamped in stocks
They prayed.
They sang.
They praised.
In this musty midnight of my life
Imprisoned in the dungeon of confusion
Bound by chains of anguish
Help me, please help me
To pray
To sing
To praise
Until the foundation shakes
Until the gates fling open
Until the chains fall off
Until I am free
To share the Good News
With other chain-bound prisoners.

—Ruth Harms Calkin,
Tell Me Again, Lord, I Forget

5 Comments

by Pastor Clegguart Mitchell on August 22, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Food For Thought, Poetry

Tagged Attitude, Endurance, Hurting, Pain, Perseverance, Steadfast

Posted by Pastor Clegguart Mitchell on August 22, 2013

https://clegguart.com/2013/08/22/a-poem-for-difficult-days/

5 Comments

JD Blom
/ August 22, 2013

Reblogged this on A DEVOTED LIFE.

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maefromheaven
/ August 23, 2013

Reblogged this on The Heart of My World.

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Nancy Ruegg
/ August 23, 2013

Ruth, your heartfelt poem resonated in my heart. Several years ago I was in a prison of emotional pain and struggled to praise and sing in spite of the hurt. It was only by His strength I was able to press on through each day. Praise God, after two years, he did shake the foundations, fling open the gates, and loose the chains! Totally unexpected, too, just like the earthquake in Philippi! Thank you for capturing so beautifully this lesson from Paul and Silas’ experience.

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mackenziespears
/ August 24, 2013

Reblogged this on Mackenzie Spears .

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