Lead Me

I've been listening to Sanctus Real's album Pieces of a Real Heart a lot lately, and I love it! I just got it not too long ago, and so far I haven't found a song on the album that I don't like. Their lyrics are so very powerful (this is me telling you to go listen to their album! Any of their albums really. They're all really good!) and their song Lead Me really struck me today. So I thought I would share it with you.

Lead Me
I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames, I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling, but on the inside, oh, I can hear her saying

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love, chasing dreams
But what about us
Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself, "They'll be fine; they're independent"
But on the inside, oh, I can here them saying...

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love, chasing dreams
But what about us
Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

So Father, give me the strength to be everything I'm called to be
Oh Father, show me the way to lead them
Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love
Chasing things that I could give up
I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
 So we can call this a home
Lea me, 'cause I can't do this alone
Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone.

I love that last verse. And the pre-last verse (maybe there's a technical name for it? Like maybe a bridge? Maybe not.).
Father, give me the strength to be everything I'm called to be. Maybe what God is calling you to be isn't going to be easy. We need His strength to lead us. So many times I try to do things on my own, and it never works out. Only when I give it to Him do things fall into place. It's still not always easy, but by His strength we can get through. And by His strength we can be strong the the seemingly impossible tasks he calls us to do.
To lead them with strong hands, to stand up when they can't, don't want to leave them hungry for love. We live in a hurting world. That much is obvious. Who will speak for those who can't speak for themselves? Who will show love to a child who is seeking it in all the wrong places? Who will defend those who have no one else to defend them? You don't have to go overseas. Look around you. There are people hurting everywhere.
I'll show them I'm willing to fight...so we can call this a home. So we can call this a home. So that we can make this earth a safer, better place to live. Are you willing to fight? To show someone God's love? To make their lives better? To make it better for our children after us?

I don't want you to feel like I keep writing things to guilt you into doing something. I know several of my posts lately have probably done just that. Honestly, I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. But then again, maybe we all need to feel guilty about some of these things. And more importantly, maybe we need to start acting on these things. Maybe we do need to start treating our husbands, or wives, or children, or roommates better. Maybe we do need to start pleading the cause of the fatherless. Maybe we do need to defend those who would otherwise be defenseless. And maybe we need to show someone that they don't have to keep being hungry for love. I know I need to start doing these things. How many times do I turn a blind eye to the hurting in our world? More times than I would like to count. Or how many times do I give once, or help once and think I've somehow reached my quota as if there isn't a whole world of suffering around me? Yeah well I donated to charity once. Yeah well I went to a homeless shelter once. What more do you expect of me? Yes, helping once is good. But so is helping more than that. So is making a commitment to ease the suffering we see every day in our world. And actually following through. So we can call this a home. I don't want you to feel guilty. I want you, and me to do something. But I know for sure we can't do this on our own. I can't do it on my own. So Father, won't you lead us? With strong hands? To fight for those who no one else fights for? Lead us, Lord. So we can call this a home.