Walking Out Loud

A Song for Ukraine

Galen Harrill / February 25, 2022

A Song for Ukraine

In a very real way what I have here is not the purpose of this website – except maybe it is. Faith is not easy and it gets messy. So, I’ve got to admit, the world events of the past few hours challenge my faith deep in my core. I spent ten years in a country that had freed itself from the harsh realities of the Soviet Union. I met and know brothers and sisters in Christ who are Russians. And I met and know brothers and sisters in Christ who are Ukrainians. And for the life of me I can’t understand why this is happening. One thing I am sure of though, there is no reason in Satan’s doings so understanding evil in any reasonable way is impossible. But what is God doing? One thing I am sure of, the more heinous the crime, the more miraculous the salvation. I don’t consider myself a poet – but pouring myself into this and knowing the One who took on the full impact of this crisis on the cross helped me get through this day. Others are suffering far worse than I am, my prayer is with them all….

A Song for Ukraine

When evil men with evil intent move against God’s justice,

When the innocent suffer for seeking the truth, and freedom is torn away,

We cry aloud and add our tears to the Man of Sorrows’ knowing

with Heaven’s revelation clear, God’s will was trampled today.

A tyrant now rages and pours out his scorn, trusting only his power,

And our “Your-will-be-done” is a prayer of admission, the world does not bow to Your throne.

While the raging and warring indiscriminately swallow the righteous and the evil,

Our hearts are broken, with unanswered questions, yet trusting You care for Your own.

So, we struggle and seek to understand a power devoid of reason,

That props up a madman to ravage a nation just seeking to live, love, and be.

But a power of malice is a power unhinged and we will not find an answer,

Until we turn to the One who delivers and gives us the true faith to see.

Against such hate, against such rage, there is just one salvation,

One hope, one peace, one reason, one love, and it’s only the way of the cross.

So, a maniac wars with Satan’s wrath to undo Ukraine, the nation,

“Why hast Thou forsaken me?” God too has endured the loss.

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2:22 AM

Galen Harrill / February 21, 2022

…that’s when I realized I was seriously awake. My wife and middle daughter had left thirty minutes ago to take a six-hour trip to Cleveland for an accepted college student’s day. Traffic at that time was probably non-existent, but this is Pennsylvania. Visions of dare-devil venison ran through my head, and I hoped they had hung up their antlers and declared car-dodging season over. But it just takes one Bambi-Knievel wanna-be. “Tell Isabella to watch out for deer,” was the last thing I told my wife, right after I said, “I love you, be careful.” I was supposed to be on this trip. Yeah, I wasn’t going back to sleep. I don’t really suffer from insomnia; I’ve always taken comfort knowing God doesn’t need sleep and He’s got everything under control (Psalm 121:4). But occasionally…. In times of stress or excitement, usually the former, I can hack two hours or more out of a good night’s sleep. The mind either races from one thing to another or fixates on a particular situation and won’t let go. “Don’t look at the clock!” It calls to me. I look. That’s when it’s really over. “Why don’t you pray?” Good advice, but I’ve learned something. At these times it’s better for me to listen and not talk. Let me explain…. When I’m giving in to worry, I need to take an actual physical attitude of prayer – hands lifted or knees on the ground or sitting with head bowed low, barely balanced; that keeps me from losing focus on God and directing my thoughts to Dr. Doubt and Mr. Worry. Lying down and trying to keep from disturbing my wife while formulating prayers to God just doesn’t get it done. But listening, that’s a different story! David speaks of thinking of God (Psalm 63:6) and meditating on His promises (Psalm 119:148) through the watches of the night. I’m not sure of everything he had in mind here, but my application of what it means has really helped me out. When the mind races, I reach out for God’s voice in the scriptures lodged in my head and I suddenly find rest. I’m not expressing myself, I’m letting God express Himself to me. His voice is soothing and hushes my spirit into peace. Like a familiar voice to a baby, His comforts me, calms me down, and suddenly, He’s rocked me to sleep.

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Of Broken Hips and God’s Grace

Galen Harrill / February 17, 2022

Maybe a bit on the ironic side – I can’t walk and I’m launching a site called Daily Faith Walk. It had something to do with ice, friction, gravity, angles, comparative densities, and force. It wasn’t pretty! I’ve got a non-displaced crack in the socket of my hip. Rest is the order of the day, or rather the order of a few weeks, and I’m not supposed to put any weight on my leg. No walking. So, I’m out of commission. Sort of…. In Genesis 31, Jacob decides to do what he wanted to do for years. He had been managing his father-in-law’s family business so to speak and it was time for a change. His father-in-law’s family was becoming jealous and Jacob was not feeling the love. It wasn’t going to be easy – Jacob had his hands full. Besides running a very successful goat-breeding operation, Jacob had other responsibilities – two warring wives; a household staff with complicated work/personal relationships and the resulting kids; a diversified portfolio of livestock. No matter, he was going home and the long-standing, unresolved personal issue of a brother who wanted to kill him would just have to sort itself out. Where was God in the mix? Well, not far away, even if Jacob wasn’t giving it much thought. He knew God promised to bless him. He knew God told him he would go home. That doesn’t mean he was completely ready. God wanted Jacob to see what happened now was all God’s doing, not his own – and it was all for his own good. Skipping over all the panic livestock installments Jacob sends to his bristly brother, we finally get to the part where God won’t be ignored. “Hey! You want the blessing? You want to know where I’ve been this whole time you were exiled? You want to know where all this good stuff you’ve got came from? Not you! It’s been me this whole time and if you didn’t have to put a little umph into it you wouldn’t appreciate it. You’ve already been blessed! Wrestle with that! And just so you won’t forget, I’m going to give you something to help you remember every time the weather changes – how about a trick hip?” So, I’ve had this dream of launching something new. I’ve taken some probing steps in that direction for years. But God is now saying, “Jump!” and I won’t worry about the hip. This is God’s blessing and He’s just making sure I know it….

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A Song for Ukraine

2:22 AM

Of Broken Hips and God’s Grace