Here There Be Dragons

I thought I would find You in the light 

I thought I would grow in understanding
By the sound of Your voice
But it was here in the darkness
That I have come to know You
In the silence, I am able to discern Your voice

My flesh says that You are not there
My eyes tell me that I am alone
But You bring to my remembrance
That I walk by faith, not sight
That I hear with my spirit, not my ears

You said You desire those who will worship in spirit and truth
Yet we strive to know You with mind and reason
You emptied Yourself on the cross to show us the way
Yet we endeavor to fill ourselves with things that will pass away
We long for You, yet we resist
We cry out to You, yet shake our fist
We think “He is trying to kill me!”
Yet, You are
Because it is our death
Which ends this war

How many have you brought to this dark place
This plateau of silence
To teach them hope
To work into them perseverance
To increase their capacity for You
Yet instead of hope, they give way to doubt
Instead of perseverance, they give way to fickleness
Instead of increasing capacity for You
They stay filled with themselves

Break us, O Lord
Break us from the notion that self is safe
Yes, self is safe but You are costly
Break us, O Lord
Break us from the notion that the fig leaf hides us
Yes, the fig leaf hides us but You expose
Break us, O Lord

So many think they walk in light
But their light is darkness
It is only an illusion
I thought I was sitting in the dark
But the darkness was light
It was only an illusion
Those who see, are blind
And those who are blind, see

So many think they hear
But they only hear themselves
It is only noise
I thought I could not hear
But faith speaks silently to the heart
Silence is the sound of Your voice
Those who have ears to hear, let them hear
Those who have ears in their spirit, rather than their head

Contentment upon the plateau of silence, hope in the midst of darkness
You work into us the gamut
This is true wisdom, this is Your image
You ask, “Are you willing to endure the gamut?”
To know the beginning from the end, the Alpha and Omega
The range of being:
Utter joy from utter sorrow
Utter understanding from utter ignorance
Utter life from utter death
To know You is to know the gamut 

To know contentment whether silent or speaking, whether darkness or light

This is the place light seeks to shine forth
From here, the light reaches every space
It seeks the deepest place
The furthest reaches
But so few are willing to travel here
We want to bring our own light with us
We tremble before the maw of darkness
We writhe in the agony of “wait”

Yet You say, “Hush child and be still
It is here that you must trust
Listen child, and you will
Know Me the way that you must
Here there be dragons that lurk in the dark
Do not fear them, only believe
Believe that I will never fail you
For it is the proof of your trust that brings you reprieve”


(Psalm 139:7-12) Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed In Sheol, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle by the farthest sea, even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”—even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You.