Inspiration

Inspiration

I am inspired by many things – a speaker – a song or singer – a turn of phrase – a sight – a flower – even a child. Often the inspiration just leaps up and slaps me in the face and I say, “I wish I had said/written/sung that.” So it was this morning when I read this short poem.

“We must go live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken
We must go
Stepping forward keep us from just singing
Move us into action
We must go”

This was written by Tim Hughes for his song “We Must Go”. What struck me was the simple phrase “Stand beside the broken”. There was the summation of all that our ministry stands for in four short words. It had the same effect on me as when I first realised the import of Henry F Lyte’s words “Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven”. This simple phrase just knocked me sideways – in a good sort of way.

We have always used expressions like ‘lost’ or hurt or wounded or hungry or addicted or other emotion-tugging words. Yet here is just one word, broken, to sum up everything. I have only ever  really seen it used in relation to Jesus, ‘broken on the cross’ or ‘broken-hearted’, or something similar. Now along comes this unknown author and God blows me away with the simplicity and incisiveness of their words – “Stand beside the broken”.

Then when I re-read the whole thing, I see the compassion of feeding the hungry; the call to action rather just talking or singing about it; of God moving us to the place of activity by His call upon our lives

I wonder, how did I ever miss this before? It is so typical of our Lord that He uses the unrecognised and unknown to place a word of inspiration in our hearts. He uses a familiar phrase to jolt us out of our apathy into empathy and thence to activity.

Don’t know about you, but this inspires me.