"Won't Be Long"

Said he didn’t care for people,

Crowdin’ ‘round him in a town,

That’s why he’d up and saddle,

Then nowhere to be found.

Stayed gone so long I’d wonder,

If he’d come back from the range,

But then one day he’d trot up,

Though most folks thought him strange.

And he told me tales of long ago,

Of cattle wild and gone,

Of horses rode and men he knowed,

Who knew right from the wrong.

‘Bout some who went where the Good Lord sent,

And prophesied what’s true,

Anointed by the Spirit’s power,

To show folks what to do.

But wouldn’t stay and try to play,

The games that most men try,

The solitary silent space,

Was what would get him by.

And no he never wed a wife,

Nor fathered children he,

But somehow by the grace of God,

He taught and mentored me.

And when the evil came and stole,

My baby and my wife,

It was that old mountain man,

Who came and helped me fight,

To rescue them and bring them home,

And give them back to me,

Safe and sound without a scratch,

And such a joy to see.

He’d fought a war and seen the world,

And somehow made it back,

And then escaped to desert high,

And never lost the track,

Of what the Good Lord showed him,

Alone out in the wind,

And then he’d ride to where I was,

Encouragement to lend.

The later years he visits less,

Than what he did before,

And every time he left again,

I hope there’d be one more.

They say they found him ‘neath the sky,

Upon a bed of stone,

And standing near unsaddled neat,

Was his good old gentle roan.

They brought a note addressed to me,

The words in cowboy print,

And as I read I came to see,

The verse was heaven sent.

Don’t worry about anything,

Instead lift it in prayer,

Make your requests unto the Lord,

And leave your burden there.

And then the peace too strong to know,

Will reign within your heart,

And when it does remember,

That we aren’t far apart.

I know just like he did before,

Awhile he will be gone,

But then I’ll see my friend again.

It really won’t be long.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7, NLT)

God sends people into our lives to point us to His peace. But in the end, we must find it for. ourselves. The promise is that if we make our requests known and put it in God’s hands, we exchange worry for peace. And the peace He gives is triggered when we turn our burdens over to Him. This world cannot give it to us nor can it be stolen. It’s stronger and deeper than our intellectual capacity to understand, but it’s there nonetheless. It becomes our heart’s referee and defender. Get some.

Lord, give us Your peace, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Jason Rich, used by permission. Thanks, Jason, and God bless you.