Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
wean it from earth; through all its pulses move;
stoop to my weakness, mighty as thou art,
and make me love thee as I ought to love.
Teach me to feel that thou art always nigh;
teach me the struggles of the soul to bear.
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh,
teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.
Words by George Croly
I have to say that I frequently deal with “the rebel sigh” – the bit on the inside of you that whines and protests Why are they asking me to do this? Why do I have to do this? Why am I supposed to do this? I do enough already.
It’s a very, very human emotion. And it leads to a strangling thorn of bitterness in the soul, that will overtake your soul’s garden, and worm its root deep until it is the only thing you can find there.
The way to overcome this emotion is to go back, with Isaac Watts, to Survey the Wondrous Cross, where your journey began. To see what Christ did for me, through His death. And to realize that,
Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were a present far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all
We are only here for a short while. I want to echo Josh Wilson and say
Oh, I refuse to Sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself.
And go, do the work I have been called to do.