Now Shalt Thou See

Inspired by Exodus 6:1

“Now shalt thou see what I will do,

Now shall my word prevail,

Now will I show my outstretched hand,

My promise I’ll reveal.

That which I showed you in the dark

When all was cold and night,

I shall work wonders and fulfill

Within thy longing sight.”

I heard His voice assuring me.

Yet, as I looked ahead,

The night grew only darker

In the valley that I tread.

The wind blew only harsher,

As the tempest whirled and tossed,

The promise He had spoken

Seemed to me as vague and lost.

Instead of freedom—heavy loads;

Instead if healing—pain;

Instead of answers—wondering,

Confusion, scorn, and blame.

Yet in the quiet of the hour

I found a message told,

That after I was purified

I would come forth as gold.

This season of uncertainty

Is needful unto me,

To strengthen, yet, my trust in Him—

So trying though it be.

Unto the heathen world is shown

The power of His hand,

As I am led through vale and woe

Into the Promised Land.

He knoweth every desert that

Beyond abundance lays,

He sees each trial following

The triumphs of the day,

Temptations strong, He knoweth them

And how they try our trust,

As well as every faltering that

Hinders faith and rest.

Indeed, He knows that for His child

To relish joyfully,

The blessing that He will bestow,

To hold them gratefully--

Ah, yes! But for His precious child

To deeply understand

The beauty of the promise kept,

The goodness of His plan,

To richly know the splendor

Of the light he’ll gaze upon,

Then, it must needs be darkest just

Before the brake of dawn.

Yea, He knows that for His child—

So fickle as he is—

To know for certainty “The hand

Of God is working this”, 

Then, such a season is required—

A seed, at first, must die;

For, just before the daybreak is
The darkest hour of night.

Copyright © Elisabeth Linzey 2016