Ecclesiastes 9:11, Ezekiel 34:21
This race is not to the swift.
This battle is not to the physically strong.
Trampled underfoot, the poor man’s cry
for mercy and compassion go unnoticed
as the finished and finite clod,
not troubled by a spark,
clambers over for self-promotion.
Belittled and tortured, the unhealthy
swallow burning insults hurled by those
sold-out on selling themselves
for another’s eye-pleasure.
Humiliated eyes stare at the sidewalk
crossing the entrance of the down-town corporation,
for fear that one more look of condescension
might push him to a self-inflicted end.
Beloved, this race is not to the swift.
This battle is not for the physically strong.
It is for those who endure
in compassion, in love, in humility.
For those who persevere in prayer,
burning in their closet, waiting on the Lord.
Prayer warriors have changed,
yes, even been to countries
their feet have never entered,
have sustained those asleep in their beds,
hanging on the edge of sanity.
How’s that for a battle plan?
-Matthew Harri
