The Cry Of A Repentant Lover Poem by Christen Kuikoua

Oh God…
hear me out of the abundance of my sin.
I'm standing here
the chosen one who keeps falling
falling so hard it feels like sin learned my name.

And every time I rise,
sin pulls me back like a memory that refuses to die,
like a colonizer staking claim
on the territory of my thoughts.

It's becoming a lifestyle
and I'm terrified of how normal it feels.

So God
look down from earth.
Hear me from the dust, O Lord
bend Your ear toward my cry.
Open Your ears to this scream
I've been hiding behind my ribs.
Cause from the assemblies of the righteous
I have slipped,
more times than I can count,
but here I am, hands shaking,
strengthen me, that I may rise again;
set my feet upon Your path
and let my lips forever praise Your holy name forever.
May Your songs dwell in my mouth,
and may Your Name be engraved upon my heart for all my days.

Take from me the cup of Your wrath, O God;
let me not drink it,
lest I be consumed and forgotten.
In Your mercy, O Lord,
hear this desolate agony
And Come to my rescue, O Lord my Advocate;
plead my cause and vindicate me.
Pour out Your love like oil upon my head,
that I may be changed within its fire.

O God, my Lord
hear my cries.
Do not shut Your ears to me, O God;
for my iniquities rise like a flood
and threaten to overtake my soul.

Turn Your face toward me
and pull me from its waters.
For I Your lover and beloved have fallen.
But even in the dirt
I know there's a road back to You.
Break sin off my life
until it becomes foreign,
until holiness becomes home.

Make my soul and body
a living, breathing sacrifice,
today,
always,
forever.
Amen.