I once put trust
in the treasures of earth,
but You have given me
a second birth.
Everything within me
will glorify your name,
for You O Lord
are forevermore the same.
Teach me more,
for I have more to learn,
I trust in Your word,
only there will I turn.
You work in ways
that I cannot see,
seeing the invisible
is true faith to me.
By faith we understand
how the worlds were framed,
now it’s time to live the Gospel… unashamed.
By Jesse Larsen – March 1, 2003
Note: There is a huge testimony behind this poem. I can not just write a poem anytime… it has to be inspired, and this poem was written shortly after I had gone through an experience which I believe God had used to test me and help me grow in grace (See James 1:2-4 and Job 23:10.) Here is how it happened…
One night I was on the computer, and it was getting very late (I think it was about 1:00 A. M.), so I shut the computer off, and I was about ready to go to sleep, but first I decided to take the garbage out. When I came back to open the door to my apartment building I realized that I had left my keys inside. So I was locked outside of my apartment, and I was in the freezing cold with a very thin jacket on.
I live in the state of Minnesota were it can get very cold during the winter. It was cold enough to get frost bite if I was out there long enough. At first I had a feeling of panic, but then I remembered the words of Romans 8:28 and these words had brought comfort to my soul. The words of Luke 12:6-7 had also helped me to calm down. I said a silent prayer so that I would somehow get through this (keep in mind that even if it got to the point were I had frozen to death, things still would have worked together for good, because I would then be "absent from the body and...present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8), but if I had not got through this then I could no longer share the Lord with people as I am doing now).
After I said the prayer I started knocking on the door for a while, hoping that someone might hear me and let me in, but it was very late, and everyone was asleep.
My parents house was about 2 miles or so from were I live, so I said another prayer and started walking down the side of the road to try to make it to my parents house, trusting that God would get me through this one way or another. After walking down the side of the road for a few minutes the cold started to become more unbearable… then a cop suddenly pulled up at the side of the road, and he asked me were I was going. After this happened I was immediately thanking God in my heart, because it was clear that He had answered my prayer!
I then told the cop about everything that happened, and he drove me to a pay phone. From the pay phone I called my parents, and my dad had another key to my apartment, so he came and picked me up and let me in my apartment. I had written this poem shortly after all of this had happened. God has shown Himself to me in so many ways, and I have no reason to be ashamed of a God who is so powerful, although I was at one time.
“Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of the things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…” – Romans 1:16