Lord, Get Me Home Before Dark
“ … that you keep His commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus’ appearing …” 1 Timothy 6:14
I was looking for something the other day in a file folder and came across a copy of a poem that was written by one of my heroes, Dr. Robertson McQuilken. Robertson is one of the giants of the faith, and has been a faithful servant of the Lord for many years.
In the midst of some very intense trials in his life and ministry, he penned the words of this now famous prayer, “Lord, Get Me Home Before Dark.”
It’s sundown, Lord. The shadows of my life stretch back into the dimness of the years long spent. I fear not death, for that grim foe betrays himself at last, thrusting me forever into life; life with You, unsoiled and free. But I do fear the dark scepter may come to soon – or too late? I fear that before I finish I might stain Your honor, shame Your name, grieve Your loving heart. Few, they tell me, finish well. Lord, let me get home before dark.
Will my life show the darkness of a spirit grown mean and small, fruit shriveled on the vine, bitter to the taste of my companions, a burden to be borne by those brave few who love me still? No, Lord, let the fruit grow lush and sweet, a joy to all who taste, a Spirit-sign of God at work, stronger, fuller. Brighter at the end. Lord, let me get home before dark.
Will be the darkness of tattered gifts, rust-locked, half-spent, or ill-spent, a life that once was used of God now set aside? Grief for glories gone or fretting for a task God never gave? Mourning in the hollow chambers of memory, gazing on the faded banners of victories long gone? Cannot I run well unto the end? Lord, let me get home before dark.
The outer me decays – I do not fret or ask reprieve. The ebbing strength but weans me from mother earth and grows me up for heaven. I do not cling to shadows cast by mortality. I do not patch the scaffold lent to build the real eternal me. I do not clutch about me my cocoon, vainly struggling to hold hostage a free spirit pressing to be born.
But will I reach the gate in lingering pain – body distorted, gro-tesque? Or will it be a mind wandering untethered among the light phantasies or grim terrors? Of Your grace, Father, I humbly ask … let me get home before dark.
Wow! As I re-read this powerful prayer, I found myself praying the same for my life. How about you? Let’s purpose together to finish well. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick
Compass Pointers: “The conviction of the Holy Spirit is always precise: He identifies root causes of sin, and He moves the heart to specific acts of repentance and obedience. All those who trust God sufficiently to desire to obey Him, and who are patient in waiting upon Him, will find unfailingly that HE gives clear guidance. ‘In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths’, promises Proverbs 3:6. For those who love God everything is aboveboard. To know Him is to know what He requires and more than that, it is to have the power to carry it out. In fact these two—enlightenment and empowering—go hand in hand, and where they do not, then the Lord is not in it.” Mike Mason
Anchored to the Rock: Mastering the art of prayer, like any other art, will take time, and the amount of time we allocate to it will be the true measure of our conception of its importance. J. Oswald Sanders
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