Rags for Riches

Feb. 15, 1979

 

(An unflattering word from God's heart to mine in a time of deep need)

 

All that is Mine, is yours.

It is so through My Son.

 

Through Him you have riches untold,

and treasures beyond comprehension.

 

You sit in your place of need.

Even poverty of spirit, joy and goods seems to have overtaken you.

 

In desperation you cry out,

as though my eyes were blind to your need.

 

You hope. You pray. You cry.

You try every conceivable measure.

 

Am I hard of hearing?

 

Why are YOU so hard of hearing?

And why does the blessing seem hidden to you?

 

It is because you have prized your own ways above my ways!

 

You cling to what has been yours.

You will let go of nothing,

to receive the blessing of heaven that you need.

 

Come now and hear My voice,

and I will teach you the way.

 

Lay at my feet all the vain things that are precious to you.

Your independence, reputation, and self-fulfillment.

 

Withhold nothing.

Keep nothing of your own self.

 

Abandon all,

and all your hopes and dreams will come into fullness,

because they are My hopes and dreams in you,

and they must come through Me, and not through you.

 

Give Me your rags.

I will give you My riches

and far more than you ever dreamed.

 

Oh, men may not laud you with titles and fame,

but in eternity you will be among the blessed,

and eternity begins today.

 

   Born in 1940, Ken Stoltzfus has worked as a pilot, ordained Christian minister, businessman, missionary to Africa and writer. This is #7 in the section, "Poetry and Piety", at www.flyinghigher.net, and is one of many short writings that can be found there.

 

© 2003, Ken Stoltzfus, flyinghigher.net, P.O. Box 548, Apple Creek, OH 44606 USA. May be printed for personal use and may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes without further permission if proper acknowledgment is given and a copy is sent to the author.