by Kelly Pelton (written 15 Mar 2021)

Those who portray themselves as your intermediary,
who expect you to believe them about what God is like,
can keep you from finding out for yourself, especially
if they misrepresent His character; this is a strike

against you, but persevere in living your own story
with God and not someone else's. Resist delegating
the stewardship of your journey to other believers
who box you into a category, relegating

you to secondary roles; they can't control your inner
life with Christ, your soul's growth under His watchful caretaking.
If your journey with Him seems dry, you're failing to disclose
all that vexes, bothers, and disheartens in painstaking

detail for Him to sift, sort, and gently illuminate.
Bring up that topic which makes you squirm, that you'd rather die
than confess to another, so painful the memory,
and discover how He views it with His all-seeing eye.

Those who don't know for themselves how tenderly He handles 
our hearts's deepest hurts can only regulate external
facets of church structure while you dive into the goodness
of Him who heals and sets you free, bringing life eternal

to your past and present, transforming with all-surpassing
power your personality. You'll not rely on them 
to tell you what God is like; you'll live a rich existence
asking and seeking, knocking, receiving the best from Him.