Begin with Me

 

What is the answer Lord, to all this hate and anger I see? 

Where does the healing begin in a hurt so wide and so deep?

How do I affect the change required to bind up those wounds?

Lord, I am overwhelmed and my response is to turn to You.

 

I seek to find understanding of why so much evil now abounds.

Daily, yea, hourly, there are new examples of hate to be found. 

There are few who speak Your language, and fewer still hear Your voice.

Lord, I am greatly grieved at the impacts of our free choice.

 

Sinners’ lives are snuffed out without any chance to be redeemed. 

Innocent lives are being taken, there is no justice it would seem.

This madness is beating down my spirit Lord, I turn to You.

My faith is being tested, is Your love still reflected, in what I say and do? 

 

I want to run and hide, until the strife has safely passed.

But I feel Your presence on my soul, what of me do You ask?

What little impact can I achieve, against this tide of hate?

A change is needed to be sure; and the first step, is the one I take.

 

Yes Lord, begin with me, lead me to walk in faith without fear.

Send me into Your Word, for it is there that You are most near.

Transform my vision from seeing hate, to seeing thru Your eyes.

Help me start the conversation that will reach across the divide.

 

Begin with me; let one act of kindness grow and multiply evermore.

Each bestowed act of goodness begats love as commanded by our Lord. 

Let me reach out to others and seek to understand their plight.

May I walk in faith and show that I am bound to Jesus Christ. 

 

Lord, guide my tongue and let it speak only the words of Your Truth.

Guard it against the influence of Satan in his quest against You. 

Lord, grow in me the simple desire to be what You will me to be.

In this time of uncertainty and anger, let Your love begin with me. 

 

Original lyrics by A. D. Knox                                  July 9, 2020