HAGIAZO

Set apart

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Dear Lord,

I am empty,

empty beyond human eyes.

They see only my body.

I do not rest,

for my soul is thirsty,

my spirit is hungry.

Who am I before them?

Who am I before the enemy and the wicked?

Who am I beyond the lavishness of this world?

My mind has thought of things.

My ears have heard the troubles of the earth.

My nose has sensed the aroma of destruction.

My eyes have seen what my ancestors only imagined.

My feet have stepped on the marks of my enemies and those who wish against me.

Yet I do not lose sleep over my enemies.

It is my friends who keep me awake.

Surely I know I cannot stand on my own.

I have tried other ways.

What did it result in?

I ran through the tunnels of my life,

searching for a way,

only to return

to the beginning.

They called me a fool with no direction.

I did not feel it.

I knew that even no direction has a direction,

as long as a life is on the compass of the cardinal points.

I knew men.

I know man.

What have I done, Lord?

In all this, I have no other desire than to be full.

For what is the gain of a plate without food?

I may desire to eat,

yet I will not eat,

for there is nothing in it.

In all these things, I separated myself.

I turned to the eagle,

who withdraws for a while to be renewed.

I became mysterious,

yet Your power within me was rising.

I am not surprised,

for I separated myself from short pleasures,

from vanity and more vanity,

simply because I love You.

I believe we signed a covenant,

a covenant of separation into You,

that I would do whatever is necessary

to fulfill Your will.

For who am I?

It was sealed by my salvation.

I do not need to know the landlord of the world.

You are the landlord of my life.

Whatever I do outside You is worthless.

Whatever I do behind You is null.

For who am I to deceive myself

before You,

the Holy of Holies?

Let them laugh, Lord;

I will laugh in joy.

Let them call me names;

I will smile, for that is not me.

Let them entice me;

I will run like Joseph from Potiphar’s wife.

Let them try to kill me;

and I will ask,

who kills a body already dead to the world,

yet alive in the Spirit,

ready for battle?

Lord, I am Your servant.

You are my Master.

You lead, and I follow.

You instruct, and I obey.

You correct, and I learn.

I do these things until You call me home.

Earth is a battleground,

not a destination.

My sword rests in Your bosom.

I stand at ease,

for You have earned the reverence of who You are.

I still wonder;

You created the world in six days,

yet we have spent thousands of years

still discovering it.

Even if You are not acknowledged by them,

You remain King.

The world chooses words.

The Spirit may be grieved,

but the Spirit chooses truth,

even when the world does not.

HAGIAZO

Set me apart,

strip me of all but You,

and let my life remain holy,

even when my name is forgotten.

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Join the journey; truth awaits.

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Your voice matters; let it be heard.

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* “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” - John 8:32