Inspirational Poems

By Edith Black

After retirement and a move to Virginia, I found more time to do what I loved. I began to write poems from little notes and ideas I had written down through the years. I was inspired by God's Word, sermons, songs, and devotions. A friend, Emily Wood, encouraged me to put them into a booklet, which I did. Thus began Inspirational Poems. Now, at age ninety, I decided to have them published. I pray that these poems may be a blessing, an encouragement, and an inspiration to those who read them. They are my witness to God and Jesus Christ, my Lord.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098024505

Book preview

Have I?

Have I walked in Your footsteps today,

Down the straight and narrow way?

Have I been the witness that You meant me to be;

So that others might see You in me?

Have I given my very best to You,

The first fruits of my life that is Your due?

Have I put You first before all things;

The place that to me Your word brings?

Have I listened when You spoke to me,

In the still quiet hours, when no one is there to see?

Have I waited for Your answers to my prayers;

When I ask for Your help for all my cares?

Have I been a neighbor, brother to all,

There to help when someone calls?

Have I done what You would have me do,

As Your Word plainly tells me to?

Have I read Your Word with an open heart,

To learn the lessons You have for me?

Have I used Your words to help me live,

A life that You find pleasing to Thee?

Have I lived the life You had planned for me,

To do, to be, to go, for a witness be?

Have I used my hours and days,

To show to all the Christian ways?

These questions I have asked of Thee.

Please answer, teach, and show to me,

How I can be what You would have me be;

That I might live so Christ, others will in me, see.

My Lord

My thoughts are not easily put into words,

The way I feel, the things I love, and yet,

I want to let the world around,

Know the beauty I see, the Lord I met.

My Lord understands me, cares for me,

And will guide me in all I do and say;

If only I give Him my stubborn will,

My faith, my love, and my willful way.

He’s all around in the beauty I behold,

The mountains, valleys, sky, and sea;

Touched by His almighty hand,

The same hand, in love, He offers me.

We have but to be still and know,

That God is here, there, and everywhere.

Know that He is, was, and always will be,

Our Lord and Savior; we’re in His care.

Dear Lord

Dear Lord, what do You want to do through me?

Dear Lord, what purpose and plan can there be?

Open my heart and help me to know,

That I am Yours and Your love to show.

Dear Lord, speak to me of truth and love.

Dear Lord, help me to hear Your words from above.

Let me feel Your comfort, Your cheer;

For, dear Lord, I love You, love You so dear.

Dear Lord, you are my guiding light in a storm.

You are my shelter from fear and alarm.

Your arms, so tender, they hold me near;

So, dear Lord, I place myself in Your care.

Dear Lord, work through me, to do Your will.

Help me to listen and be very still.

Dear Lord, may I hear Your voice clear;

For, dear Lord, I know You are always near.

Dear Lord, hold me in the hollow of Your hand.

Give me strength that, against trial, I may stand.

Dear Lord, may I ever be clay in Your hands.

Mold me into a vessel to do Your commands.

Risk The Journey

Risk the journey that the Lord has given you,

Each hour, each day, all the year through;

For come what may, God will be there,

To watch over you, to love, and to care.

We will never know what each day will bring us;

But we must risk the journey and, in God, trust.

Do not be afraid to step out, seek the unknown.

There may be an opportunity for seed to be sown.

Some journeys are hard and bring us sadness.

God never promised us all would be gladness;

But, if we risk the journey and do His will,

We can always know, He abides with us still.

You are never alone as you travel life’s road,

And your place on earth is not your eternal abode.

So, set your eyes and look toward heaven,

And risk the journey that you have been given.

A reward awaits us at the end of the road,

When God lifts from our shoulders our heavy load;

And welcomes us to our heavenly home,

Because we risk the journey while on earth we did roam.

A Community Of Love

There are no barriers in a community of love,

No closed streets or doors to prevent God’s love from above.

In the image of God, we all are made,

To show a love that will not fade;

To lift the ones we meet each day,

By the love we share and the words we say.

Each of us is different in many ways, and yet,

Love makes us the same, never forget;

For God sent His Son to die for each of us,

With a love so great, a love you can trust.

So smile at your neighbor, whenever you meet;

Love makes him a brother, a friend to greet.

We can be a part of a community of love,

By joining hands and hearts with God above.

The Name Is Joy

Just coming together in love each week,

Out of the Bible, God’s Word to seek,

You can find the strength to others speak.

Jesus, His love and mercy we find.

Oh, that we, like Him, might do deeds so kind.

Yield to the Spirit and leave sin behind.

Joy should show in a smile on our face.

Our faith can be known by God’s grace.

Your life and mine can find love in this place.

Join with us in praise each Sunday.

Out of thankfulness for the debt Jesus did pay.

You can find love, friendship, and fellowship by being here today.

(written for the JOY Class of Penelope Baptist Church, Hickory, NC 9/90;

and dedicated to the JOY Class of Manassas, VA.)

His Hands

His hands reach out in love.

Nail-scarred because we sin.

His arms enfold the lost.

Our troubled souls to win.

Jesus Christ, Son of God,

Gave His life to save our soul;

Died on that cruel cross,

That heaven might be our goal.

How can we fail to see,

That cross where Jesus died?

Those hands held out in love,

Saying, Come, with Me abide.

His hands outstretched to heal,

The heart-sick of the land.

His voice softly pleads,

Come join God’s heavenly band.

I Am Committed

I am committed to my Savior,

Through Him all things to do.

I am committed to walk with Jesus,

And put my trust in Him anew.

I am committed to work for Him,

To spend time in prayer each day.

I am committed to be like Jesus,

In all that I do and say.

I am committed to making my life,

A life pleasing to God above.

I am committed to being ready,

To show others His mercy and love.

I am committed to sharing His love,

By every word and every deed.

I am committed to teaching others,

And the Bible, to study and read.

I am committed to live for Jesus,

To remember He died for me.

I am committed to be a Christian,

And like Him I want to be.

Molded Clay

God had a plan to shape my life;

When He took me as a lump of clay.

He molded me to make me perfect,

But I marred that plan with my willful way.

Little by little I changed His plan.

God said, Go, and I said I want to stay.

He said, Work for Me, But I’ve no time, I said.

He said, Love Me and others; but I wanted my way.

But as the potter takes the marred clay.

And with loving hands he starts anew.

God will take us with all our sins,

Reshape and remake us useful too.

(Possible chorus)

Take us, mold us, make us as You planned,

To be useful and a witness to man.

Your purpose for each, help us to be,

That we can a useful vessel be again.

Called And Accountable

When you have been called by God,

You will do His will each day.

When you have been called by God,

You will walk the narrow way.

When you have been called by God,

His word you will do and say.

When you have been called by God,

You will live for Him today.

You are accountable to God,

If you accept His call.

You are accountable to God,

For your witness to all.

You are accountable to God,

When you cause someone to fall.

You are accountable to God,

Whatever may befall.

(Possible chorus)

Called and accountable,

Called and accountable,

Called and accountable to God above.

Called and accountable,

Called and accountable,

Called and accountable to show God’s love.

He Is The Light

The night has fallen in misty shades,

Making the lights around us twinkle dim.

Sin covers the earth with shadows too,

And life is full of darkness without Him.

He is the Light, this Son of God,

Son of man, who came to earth;

To give us life eternal,

A gift made possible through His birth.

Without Him there is no hope, no faith,

No love for all the human race.

For each of us