Hope

In the waiting,
She’s changing
She’s enlarging from the inside out
And though it looks like nothing is happening
She knows His hand is at work
Weaving a story never before read
Painting a picture never before seen

And though it looks like everything is the same
He is bringing new wine out of nothing
Rebuilding what was broken beyond redemption
His mouth is calling forth the future
Soon it will all burst out in living colour
She will stand in awe and be amazed
As darkness gives way to light
©Olamide Oti
29-05-2018

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Of Burnt Bridges and the Road Less Traveled

there lies behind us
a string of burnt bridges
and the road less traveled
if we could sing an ode to regret
or paint a picture of pain
it would be a masterpiece
a sight for sore eyes
a remedy for broken hearts

but there lies before us
a promise to great to ignore
by the One whose lips never lie
of hope and new wine
of grace and new beginnings
so let us step into the promise,
as new wine bursts through old wineskin
paving the way to more…

©Olamide Oti, 2018

Come Home!

You have been despised and rejected,
tossed to and fro by lies so perfect they sound like the truth.
You have been told that no one has ever made it out alive,
That this maze of lies will soon be your grave,
and hell would be your eternal home.
You cannot imagine a better place for you,
Filthy, sinful you.

It would be another lie,
If you say you have never felt your heart stir
And you have never heard his soft knock on the door of your heart
He is here everyday
Like a broken record,
Knocking on the door of your heart,
Asking for an invitation

Your fate is not sealed yet,
Your time has not run out
Be brave,
Open the door to Truth
Choose the life you were made to live.
Come over to the other side,
To Love and Light
Come home,
To Grace and Peace
Come home.
©Olamide Oti
26-04-18

True love waits

In my darkest moments
When I was knee-deep in sin
Oblivious to my fallen state
Your love chased me

Even when my lips rejected you
You just chased me some more 
You despised the shame of unrequited love 
And waited… 

You knew the scales would fall
You knew the pain of regret would almost consume me
That I would need new eyes and a new heart 
You gave me You

Like a little child,
May my eyes always light up with wonder when you speak.

Ours is an eternal dance
To a never-ending song
You will never let go
This is your eternal promise

©Olamide Oti 
30-03-18

A place called love

Shame stripped us and we lay bare
Naked, shivering in the cold
Until Love found us,
Cut our hearts open and ripped out every trace of fear
Every wound received His touch Our bodies received new life
Our eyes are glazed over with love
Our hearts are full of joy
His glory shines upon our faces
Filling us with us with His light

Beneath His shadow, we are kept
He is our firm foundation,
Our peace
Our place of safety
In Him we have
Freedom,
Rest,
Hope.

At last, our wandering souls have found rest,
We have found a home
Love is our home.

©Olamide Oti, 2018

For Abba

My eyes strain to see the end from the beginning
Something only Yours were meant to do
You watch as I go round in circles
Turning to everything and everyone except You
Trying to carry burdens my shoulders are too frail to bear

Fear stares me in the face,
Daring me to step out in faith
Certain of my downfall when you promised to catch me
I say a resounding ‘yes’ to this life of reckless abandon
Like a child, I’ll live on every word that proceeds from your mouth
Obeying your every command
Joyfully carrying out your instructions

You are good.
Darkness gives way to Your light
You are powerful, all-knowing, intentional
You are love

My life is in your hands
Your hands drip with provision
Your mouth overflows with blessings
I say a resounding ‘yes’ to this life of abundance.

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You are everything I need
You are the answer to all my questions
You fill in every void gracefully
I say a resounding ‘yes’ to this life of peace
As you still the storms raging within my heart…
© Olamide Oti

 

The Wait

It’s been a long time, Lover
Since my pen met paper to sing Your praises
Apologies…
But I’ve been too busy waiting,
For You.
I’ve been waiting for ages
To see Your word become flesh

You said the doors were open to me
Yet it seems I’m stuck just at the entrance,
Unable to step in

I’ve waited quite patiently too I might add,
Still. Quietly rocking back and forth
Occasionally pacing and peering through the windows
Marking the dates and wondering which one would
Bring home the job and the king you promised
Alas! I had been missing the whole point

I’ve barely listened for Your voice
So eager to leave this season of waiting
That I forgot just how patiently You can wait
To drive home Your point—Sigh!

You made me sit
And washed me with the water of Your word
Until I found contentment afresh in You
That nothing else could bring

I’ve occasionally lapsed into fits of anger and resentment
Wondering how You—Father, Lover, Friend could
Keep me waiting for so long and still say
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on Your own understanding…”
It made no sense even when You whispered,
“For I know the plans I have towards you, declares the Lord, “they are plans for good and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope.”

What?!
While I still waited at home as my friends moved on with their lives?
The only way this made sense was when You hit me over the head with ‘Isaiah 55:8’
“My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways My ways”
At this point I was begging to see the whole master plan
Of course, there was no way You could show me all of it

The one thing that keeps me going is Your love;
Higher than the heavens
Deeper than the deep blue sea
Wider than the oceans
Your love;
Indescribable,
Amazing
Wild

Your love empowers me,
Enables me to trust You more each day
And answer “yes Papa”, with child-like awe each time You call
And so I’ll wait for You

You are all my eggs and my only basket
In You alone will I trust
Saviour, Lover, Friend
You complete me
And satisfy me deeply.
I marvel at You Jesus
As I wait,
All I want to see is Your face.

© Olamide Oti, April 2017

BRIDGE TO HEAVEN

At the garden of gethsemane,
It became real to me,
Three times, I asked that the cup be taken away
Yet that his will be done

I tasted and felt the darkness encircling me
And their sins becoming one with me
Yet I looked beyond and saw the glory ahead
Darkness truly had no clue

Today, the atonement would be seen in time,
Typified by death on a tree – a man
Condemned to die by the ones whose
Pardon I now seek

For a moment in eternity,
Three hours in time,
Because of their sins,
Abba turned away

Time stopped,
The unseen and seen
Became one on the cross
The battle had reached a climax

Sin was me,
Death was the wage,
I was the price
For your freedom

Just when they thought they had won,
A new order was birthed,
A new man was conceived by His Spirit
Once for all

Do you not see?
Do you not perceive?
Or do you choose to ignore the Message?

(c)Olamide Oti, 2015

The message of the cross is eternal. I pray for a revelation of God’s amazing love to you as you read this.
Happy Easter to you!

The Long Road Home

It’s dark here.
The curtains are masks
Protecting me from the mess in this place
The bed smells of sex and cheap wine
The floor is strewn with dirty clothes
Last night’s meal found solace on the bathroom floor
A bible, long forgotten lay in the corner

Ghosts of memories past filter through
Cracks in carefully constructed barriers
Announcing the charges
And stating the punishment with finality
I was caged in a prison with no walls,
Told that there was no way out
The warden was a merciless task master

One day I
Heard a whisper,
Heart racing, I answered,
I saw Him, running to me in the distance
My steps were hesitant and suspicious
I wondered what manner of man this was
He stood up for me
Silenced my accusers
And gave me a beginning
With an end in eternity

He satisfies me completely, wholly, deeply,
He is Father, Lover, Friend
My heart rejoices for He has made me glad
He redeemed me and called me ‘His own’
What I feel for Him is far beyond words
Yet it is incomparable to how much He loves me
His love brought me home
(c) Olamide Oti, 2016