I need not fear my lack of ability

I need not fear my lack of ability

Nor let my own mere fragility

Remain steadfast upon

Another to fully supply 

My needs

Despite my many imperfections

My only source of true dependence

Is the one who has my steps determined

My course and where it shall lead

My one need He alone can satisfy

He alone can I completely depend

For He has borne the brunt of it all

And to Him alone do I surrender all

So as for healing

His love and grace appealing

Shall all my scars revealing

Be made whole

When I my life do give

In service to all shall live

That when at last

My life is past

Shall surely find my home

And know despite

My many faults 

These trials were not

In vain

All have I to gain

For Him who took my pain

Completely on Himself

That I may once more

Regain a hope

Beyond the grave 

-Joshua Lee Foist

On sorrowed shores shall we

On sorrowed shores shall we
While thee drift oft to sea
From clutches of frail humanity
So depart

Though not far from our
Broken hearts
Though still and barren
We know

Thy joy
Doth ever grow
More and more
As thee drift farther
From this fleeting shore

For far beyond the eyes that see
Yet for thy great joy arise
To that glorious celestial
Mystery

For all life's sorrows and pain
No more find their sting or gain
For thy joy complete
When at last

Meet thy savior
Before His feet
Do rise

And look full
Within His loving eyes
And know at last
Thy home

Eaternal
Where light shall
Never fade

Though here
Our eyes blur
With thoughts
Of memories past

Yet joy
Shall still remain
To comfort amidst
This present pain

For know we this
Our time here too
Is short

And for that
We pray may it
Be well endured

For we know not when
Our time shall come
And though we long
Once more to see

Much more we long
To do our savior's will
Until that day
Our greatest thrill

Shall join thee in
That great triumphant hall
When all who are called
Shall as one be there

What joys shall sing
When at last
Our sorrows past
Shall meet our Savior
And our King

-Joshua Lee Foist

*In Memory of Matthew Keith, a dear brother in the Lord.

Oh time how art thou oft spent with me

Oh time how art thou oft spent with me
And I of thee for all thy usefullness
My own complacency hath made
Waste of me

For oft in haste
Plan I hours upon end
Yet all that depend
Upon this house of cards

Yard upon yard
It stretches
Far too long
To waste away

How time doth take
To unravel this mistake
And me the sum
Of my own depravity

When to awake
Before heaven's quake
Before the last of trumps
Hath sound

Shall thou find me
In my shroud
Of hostility
And rage

Or might
I hope my soul
Cry out from this cage
In serenity at last
Humility

Have thy way with me
If at last thy sorrows
May chase
And hope tomorrows
May all
Embrace

For none but thee
Can drive it
From me

For my own
Ways are worn
Away

And all
Left to
Dust
And decay

Then come
Ah come
And wash me
Away from this
Scum of life
Still clinging
To me

It a counterfeit
Hath death
To me
Become

For heart
Of stone
Is all alone

Come fresh
Make flesh
Once more
Of me

That I may
Love thee
In part

As thou
Much more
Of me

-Joshua Lee Foist

There is a place yet unknown

There is a place yet unknown
A forest overgrown
Hath long awaited
The day

When travellers
Would hasten that way
Into its enchanted
Grove

Ah for treasure there
Delight that come
May recite its wonders
If the time they take
To partake in its
Pleasures

Where might one be
Who could chance to know
For in a place as this
Anything imaginable

Yet long hath it waited
And all the world debated
What could it be
This unnamed mystery

Many wars fought
And many lives lost
And still at what cost
To know what wonders
Are hidden there

Yet no one has found
Courage enough
To roam in its
Realm

For fear
Hath marked it
Year upon year
And age upon age

Waiting beckoning
Never without hope
That one day
A traveller

Would wander that way
Into the woods of that place
How calm would it be
At last for one to come
And see

Yet courage must steer
The heart of fear
And look past its
Foreboding

And enter
For then at last
The mystery unravelled
And joy anew
Might settle as dew

For at last
One's troubles past
Are worth their weight
For the woods
In wonder

At last
Hath they
Awakened

-Joshua Lee Foist

How do I give of myself

How do I give of myself
To those who happen to be there
When in my doubt and despair
How do I love and care

Oft in my head
In my mind am I
Confined by my own
Choosing to be alone

Yet when others in need
Cry out and plead
Why do I find
My desires are so hostile

Where might thy grace
Which comforts the pain
Come from this brokenness
And let others in

To love and let in
Those who are broken
That I too might become
Whole when at last

I have learned my role
To love beyond
My own control
To those who so desire
To be loved and known

-Joshua Lee Foist

Now to this uncertain path

Now to this uncertain path
To where I cannot see
For now to know the crossroads
Tis sure enough

And hope that I
Am made of greater stuff
To trudge along ahead
Though know I not the way

Oft in silence
And passing of time
Waiting and praying
Then choosing at last

The past remains
The present most sure
Though yet unsure
The future mearly
A dream

A hope of what
Might or might not be
Save only to wait
And see

Ah for waking
And wondering
Of praying
And pondering

If only to know
At last the way
Was right

Yet the way
Is marked
By faith
And not
By sight

So if it must
Be only to trust
Then by lessons learned
And wisdom discerned

May guide the way
More clear
Today

If for now
Is all
That's
Known

Enough
It shall be
To wait
And see

-Joshua Lee Foist

I have much been conceited

I have much been conceited
In my heart been defeated
By the storms that rage
Round the wires of this cage

This desert toil
Has worn me thin
And oft my sin
Has toyed
To do me in

Oh wretched soul that I am
Where can thy shade be found
When might a cool breeze
Come to appease

Though oft in doubt
And restlessness about
My soul desires
Thy steadfast love

In this desolate place
Surround me in thy
Oasis of grace
May cleanse my feet
Of all their deceitful ways

No other way but thine
Whether to death
Find I the divine

Thy vine shall
Restore me
Thy love
Shall I feed

For no earthy riches
Do I need
For thy treasures
Are beyond compare

Thy truth conquers
All despair
Thy light
Reveals

My hope
Yet remains
For all my earthly pains
Are but shards
From thy cross

My debt full
And paid
Thy sacrifice made
My joy complete
When at last
To fall at thy feet

-Joshua Lee Foist