Shipwrecked – A Lament© (Dec 2021)

A lament infused by the Holy Spirit and informed by a study of the life of the kings and prophets of old, alongside women of grace and God, who observed that maybe, sometimes, God wrecks our ships to save us from something we couldn't see, didn't know.

I thought I was meant for better things

I thought all would be well

I wanted this ship to come in Lord

I wanted to be able to tell

To tell of the goodness and glory of God

To sing praises to God most high

I wanted to say my God he is great

His Sovereignty can’t be denied

But my ship was wrecked on the shores of this life

I do not understand why

My ship was wrecked for reasons unknown

My sorrow and grief they are high

And I cannot tell of the goodness of God

Nor sing praises to God most high

I cannot say that my God he is great

That his Sovereignty can’t be denied

My heart is broken

My dreams have died

My body is fading away

I fear for the future

I toss and I turn

I have no joy in today

For my ship has been wrecked on the shores of this life

I cannot understand why

My ship was wrecked for reasons unknown

But it shows me where my hope resides

It showed me that faith

Must be in God alone

Not in what he can give

For ships can be idols

We cling to in fear

Having decided how we should live

A ship that founders in the storms of this world

Does not mean that He doesn’t care

Do I really believe what I say I believe

Or is faith only strong when it’s fair?

This world is broken

Ships will sink

I am not owed a thing

This world has evil

Ships will crash

Faith can help me sing

To tell of the goodness and glory of God

And sing praises to God most high

Choosing to say my God he is great

His sovereignty can’t be denied

For God doesn’t change

He does have a plan

I do not understand all

I want what I want

When and how that I want

And that’s what led to the fall

Ships are just ships

They are hopes they are dreams

But most are not from the Lord

They are built in the docks

Of my mind and my need

Forged in my blindness to time

They are tied to the wharf

Of my heart and my greed

Setting sail by my own design

A greed to be known, admired, and ‘loved’

A hunger for wealth and for fame

As if those things could save my soul

Or fill up the hole of my shame

Selah

Perhaps it is best if those ships were smashed

For only God knows where such ships would have led

I can grieve for what’s lost on the shores of this life

Or believe that He really knows best

And tell of the goodness and glory of God

Singing praises to God most high

Choosing to say my God He is great

His sovereignty can’t be denied

Riding HIS ship through the storms of this life

Locking my eyes on his own

Not gripping the sides

But holding his hands

Trusting my captain

All the way home.