Poem “Dear Chruch, Can I get a Witness.”
Just wanted to give a brief back story of this poem. The poems title is inspired by "Tell Somebody by Danny Gokey ft Mandisa, "Witness" by Jordan Feliz and "Reckless Love" by Cory Asbury. This poem was written a little while after Mandisa was called home to our Lord and Savior. It just so happened I was on YouTube one day when this song was shown on my feed. I actually had never heard the song before up till that point. However, the call in the song resonated with me even though I wasn't sure how to grab hold of it myself.
All of this actually changes when I am listening to one of my radio stations on Pandora when I hear the song "Witness" by Jordan Feliz come on. It was in that moment that there was a merging of songs, the title was created and then, so too, was the actual poem. I just want to make something clear this poem wasn't just created because of the merging of songs but rather the day I was listening to these songs I was in a place where the enemy had me feeling like I wasn't worthy of the calling and to be saved. So, when I heard these songs something took root and I was reminded of all I had been through up till that point. So, while the lyrics were a starting point it was ultimately what I was experiencing that lead to the creation of the poem.
This is why this blog is so freeing for me. Every poem written on my journey thus far has been in some way little pieces of the much larger story of my walk with Jesus. Yes, music, plays a factor in the creation of the poems but what's in the center of it all is Jesus. Every time a poem is written I am in his word and he then speaks out through me. I love that I can talk to Jesus in this way and I can share this love I feel with the world. That's why I saw it as only fitting to share this poem next even though it was just recently written about a month ago.
I see this poem as a culmination of what the creation of this blog is even though at the poems inception, I didn't even have that knowledge. This poem is what I would call my redeeming cry and call to my church and the world at large. We need more people to walk in less judgement and more love. For God is love and that is a call and what is resonated throughout scripture.
One final realization I will make known before I share the poem is some of my poems are connecting stories as this one is with one that came before it called "Lawgiver and Judge, Only One" (I will share that one next) which was written from the scripture from James 4:12 I love the way the holy spirt works through me and makes these connections even though in the moment I actually had no idea of it. He truly is my helper and friend in ways that I can't even begin to express. That's why scripture says his ways are not my ways and his thoughts are not my thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-NIV) Who else but our most awesome God could do something as amazing as this. I am now boldly walking into obedience to what he has called me to do with the creation of this blog. The enemy will not win because I will no longer be silent. No matter how I feel I will walk with the Lord and I know he will order my steps.
Dear Church, Can I Get Witness
Dear Church, did you always know this was where you were meant to be?
Was there ever a moment when you could not see?
If you were anything like me
You might have been living without the knowledge of being free
Am I the only one who never went to church?
But still experienced the power of God’s rebirth
Dear Church, where do you say Church is?
Where do you believe God lives?
Dear Church, what if you didn’t have the Bible to tell you?
Do you think God wouldn’t know what to do?
Or know it was you?
Before I spoke a word, God was singing over me
He knew I was meant to live free
Cause lost souls are his specialty
That’s why he chases us down
Fights till we are found
And leaves the ninety nine
Says they’re already mine
And finds the lost one
Cause we are all daughters and sons
And his will be done
To bring all his children home
He’s the good shepherd that knows how to deal with sheep who roam
He does this for every child
All with this thought in mind:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
This was the start of birth
Now the earth was formless and empty
But he put his brush over it and the world became fruitful with plenty
Which means
He created our inmost being
He knit us together in our mother’s womb
So, why then do we not make room?
If he created and searched us
Isn’t it time to discuss
That he knows us all
Even before we hear his call
He’s fighting to break down our human walls
One thing God has spoken
We are all chosen
Two things I have heard
Even before I had his word
Power belongs to God
Heaven can be here on earth and the beyond
You know how I know this?
Because when he called me the first time it was almost missed
When I thought someone else said open your eyes
So he returned again to ensure there was no mistaken who said sleeper rise
His mighty hand was so powerful
He made internal towers fall
With just three simple words
He doesn’t come on our terms
He is so much bigger than what the world thinks
He is our missing link
Dear church, is it safe to say we all may live in our own tomb?
Until we awake and life truly resumes
Lazarus might not be the only one who was dead
But as Jesus said
He can raise him up again
And then
He did
Just like God rolled the stone and Jesus lived
All God does is roll stones away
Nothing can stand in his way
The same way I was blinded and he gave me spiritual eyes to see
Do you know how many times I was under but he still called out to me?
He said I’m not stopping until I made you free
That’s how hard God fights for those he loves
That’s all he does
He died for us
And bore more than cuts
For our sin
But he conquered death for new life to begin
Dear Church, have you felt the resurrection power?
The kind that sneaks up on you in the middle of the hour
A force so strong you were overpowered
By the encounter
Something so beautiful
His presence is irrefutable
Dear Church, Where would I be if he had not rescued me?
Probably dead or still lost at sea
I have tasted and seen
Do you know what I mean?
Dear Church, I wish you would have told me
This is what it’s like to be free
Come on church say Amen!
And then say it again and again
Let me introduce ya
To my hallelujah
I was part of the broken people
But God gave me his wings so I can soar like an eagle
He snatches evil
And calls us his chosen people
He lets us go through the valley
Because he knows he is the wings that carry
Oh, my God is and always will be faithful
I am beyond thankful flowing past grateful
Into a wordless word that expresses the feeling of having a seat at the table
His love is moving mountains
Allowing his chosen people up close encounters
To see his love fight for us
Lets discuss
How there is no wall he won’t kick down
Until we’re found
I know I don’t deserve it
I’m nothing without him, I just don’t exist
It’s because God is near to the brokenhearted
That he can rescue us and show us we’ve all been adopted
He saves those who are crushed in spirit
For he sees them as his dearest
Do you know how many times I was crushed in my soul?
Before I even recognized the power of God’s love and Jesus’s sacrifice to be whole
But he was always there hanging on to the pieces beyond my soul
Because it was this power that allowed me to press on and accomplish every goal
And the goal I speak of was to keep moving forward
Even when I was cornered
By my enemies, for they were many
Sometimes it was more than humans who condemned me
It was thoughts that were so loud and so strong
I wondered to myself how did I even get up and move when I was so withdrawn
But you see church, this is the power of our most awesome God
He comes with his staff and rod
And comforted me
Even before I could hear or see
He was parting the sea
How else would you describe this super natural strength I possessed
When I was depressed
When I was stressed
When I was put to the test
Shackled and put under arrest
With no sight of rest
Beyond thoughts of leaving this earth by my own hands
And some how rise and stand
Plaster on a smile
All the while
I was dying inside
But yet my hands never committed the act so I never died
Because I never tried
Because God was whispering to me even then and saying I’m by your side
I will provide
Even when your hands are tied
Even when you can’t decide
I will provide
And somehow I see beyond the tide
To something that I can’t see that is a guide
Even though I never spoke but he always replied
There was always something reaching out to me beyond the divide
God was just waiting for the right moment to wake me up so he could reside
Where he always was
Because
He was there already
How else do you think I was steady?
Even when I was shaky
And people like my family were calling me crazy
But yet I was carrying on daily
Dear church, do you understand this feeling?
When God keeps revealing
Lifting the veil beyond the ceiling
And healing
Before you even know who did the stealing
I know with all certainty
God comes rushing in with all urgency
Even when we don’t know him personally
I know it sounds like absurdity
But truly I tell you that is his courtesy
To love you pass the point when you can’t see
How else do you think God is able to break you free?
Don’t even be surprised when he calls you out you may not recognize the voice at first
But trust me or rather trust God when I say there will be a thirst
And not a normal thirst that your human mind will understand
I’m talking about a power so great it will command
You to listen
Until your soul latches on and there is recognition
Which will look different for every child that he calls
Because we all have different walls
That God has to break through
But when I tell you
God plants a seed
That goes beyond human need
You will pick up his holy book and just start to read
And his spirit will just start to move and lead
And you will follow
Because your soul will recognize it’s no longer hollow
And then the Holy spirit will guide you to every word you need to hear
He will work through your fear
He will work through your shame
He will have you proclaim
His name
You won’t even realize at first that you’ll never be the same
And that’s all his glory, Oh let me say that again
That is all his glory, Amen! Amen! Amen!
How could I not tell somebody about Jesus
When his life frees us
His life meets us
Right where we are, no matter how far
We think our soul is not worth saving
Or what the devil is saying
Jesus will come in shaking and breaking
Because he is beyond amazing
His love is blazing
It’s always chasing
And raising
His love is taking back souls
And making them whole
Dear church, I wish you would have told me it was this beautiful
To go to your own funeral
And get to see your self live again
Oh church, that requires an Amen! Amen! Amen!
To be lifted from the walking dead
And be reconnected to the head
And join the land of the living
That’s my everyday thanksgiving
That’s why I’m always singing
For who wouldn’t when you have a new beginning
All because of the glorious cross
That washed us across
With Jesus blood
And said all are loved
And conquered the grave
For all to be saved
As it’s written, I believed therefore I have spoken
We are awoken
But carry around the death of Jesus
So that the life of Jesus
May also be revealed in our body
This is part of the image we embody
Dear church, I truly want to know can you also still give the glory when life becomes hard?
What if darkness tries to take my light would you condemn me?
Or help me see?
Dear church, if life becomes heavy and doubt begins to creep
Would you still think I’m one of God’s sheep?
Would you help me not go to sleep?
And help me remember how he called me out
And give a hallelujah shout
If I took a knee because I couldn’t plea
Brother would you help me?
Sister would you pray over me too?
And help my voice come through
Dear church this is what I know for sure
The world is dying and there is a cure
There’s a hope that’s deep within us
That heals any kind of illness
That offers forgiveness
And is always near us
If all we would do is trust
And believe
And help more people see
Only Jesus Christ is the way to be free
It’s the only embrace
That gives so much love, so much grace
It’s a love that abounds and permits us
To live with such richness
This is for the people in the front and the back
Who may feel under attack
Dear Church can I get a witness
C’mon now can I get a witness
Glory, Hallelujah!
Amen!
Thank you, Jesus!
By: Maria Graves
English 
Spanish