Let Christ My Focus Be

I rise each day to do my job.
Not to weep, complain or sob.
I'll not let satan my day rob.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

I begin each day in fervent prayer.
I take my sword and practice there.
When my turn comes, I will not err.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

I rise now and go toward the front.
I will not sit here on my rump,
While satan kills men with a thump.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

To the front, the battle nears.
Many fall, run through with fear.
satan's cries are in my ears.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

I pass the ones that sit aside.
I see those washed away by tide.
On Solid Rock I found each stride.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

Sometimes the water's deep and strong.
Sometimes the trials are tough and long.
But I know where my eyes belong.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

And now I feel I'm at the front.
I look around for friends to come.
There's none but Christ, ….
God's will be done.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

The trench's mud is drenched with blood.
The fallen saints withstood the flood.
The prayers of many at me tug.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

The mud is deep and slows my legs.
My forward progress slows instead.
All around me lay the dead.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

All around me bullets fly.
Sweat and blood they sting my eyes.
Smoke and death they fill the sky.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

The struggle here seems long and hard.
Hold tight my sword, God's Holy Word.
Rise up and fight with one accord.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

Blisters sting my hands and feet.
On head and shoulders; - battle's heat.
The ground I've gained, I'll not retreat.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

My flesh beneath my armors worn.
I've let some rust; some straps are torn.
But my strength grows, each soul reborn.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

I feel the arrows as they strike.
I feel the blows against my might.
I press on forward with God's Light.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

I feel God's presence at my side.
Long down the trench, I see your eyes.
There'd be more here, if not for pride.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

My Savior Christ will watch my back.
This satan, I will cut no slack.
his demons each day I'll attack.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

My thoughts flash to those in the rear.
Who come not forward for their fear.
I see the gaps in battle near.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

The devil's arrows gouge at me.
he kills my friends and family.
I pray to God, his end I'll see.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

So to the front I will push on.
I pray 'God please help me be strong'.
The battle's end will not be long.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

At battle's end, His son I'll be.
Fresh new cloths He'll give to me.
Of battle's struggles, I'll not see.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

And then I'll lay my armor down,
Wash off the mud, receive my crown.
I'll rest in His eternal town.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

So, where are you when battles flare?
The price is high; - the cross to bare.
My Lords not in the rear,.. but there.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

I will not stay here, in the rear.
Though blood and sweat and pain and tear.
Christ Jesus paid a price too dear.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

What is it, keeps you where you stay?
The front is near; your price is paid.
It is Christ's blood that marks the way.
LET CHRIST MY FOCUS BE.

So at the front I want to be.
For only there, is victory.
It's there, my Savior waits for me.

SO CHRIST, MY FOCUS BE.

This poem won second place for the June 2007 poetry contest