"In My Weakness"
"Bread of life, pure living water; Lover of my soul,
In my weakness be my strength to reach the final goal.
Lamb of God, dear hope of glory, Savior crucified,
By your blood I am redeemed, my debt now satisfied!
Though they slay me, though I fall; in darkness You are light!
Jesus, I will keep my eyes on you 'till my faith becomes sight!
Precious, holy, Lord and King, so full of love and grace.
Though I live, or though I die, I rest in your embrace."
-Lucinda Bateman (1877)
This song circled through my head this morning as I was pondering recent events in life. Lately, I have been struggling with not really feeling God’s power in my life, and feeling like a total failure because I am not some über man of God after a few years of being a Christian.
God never promised instant advancement in this war. He told us simply to follow him, and that we were to be soldiers. “Endure hardness...” That does not really sound inclusive of being “carried to the skies on flow’ry beds of ease.” It also never was promised that we would be coddled and protected the whole way to heaven. Yes, we are promised: “Lo, I am with you alway; even to the end of the world,” but that is not saying that we will ALWAYS have the feeling that God is there. There are times of dryness, times of testing, and times where we may wonder what is wrong… Don’t you think Paul and Silas may have felt rather blue as they awaited their sentence in the prison house? What about all the disciples at certain times? How did they feel when Jesus was securely buried in the tomb?
It was not in vain that our Lord said: “In the world, ye shall have tribulation, but fear not, I have overcome the world.” Our Lord is with us; He will save us, but we MUST NEVER lose faith, ‘sight,’ and trust in our captain.
I think we forget how much that Jesus truly loves us. At least I do. I get this horrific idea that somehow Jesus is so busy with other better Christians, and he doesn't have time for those like me, who just don't quite hit the mark every time. No, NO, NO!. We are weak, but in our weakness, he is made strong. It is only through the blood of HIS death that we are justified in the sight of God. Remember, our debt is SATISFIED because of the suffering of Jesus, who LOVED us! That is so incredible!
That simple little song is so full of meat; it's incredible. And the tune is almost the same way. Very simple, but incredibly beauteous in how she arranged the structure.
“Though I live, or though I die, I rest in your embrace.”
Labels: ramblings
3 Comments:
I have never heard that song before - where did you find it? ...Sad, we used to know all the same songs... =/ =)
By Anonymous, at 3:10 PM
Hey, Ryan.
I know this post has been up for a while, but due to time constraints I'm just reading it now-- and finding it pertinent. Trusting Christ, and holding fast despite feeling... For me, it ties into drawing near to Him when He could/should refuse me. Just had Bible study in Luke 15 last night. The whole familiar prodigal son bit is a case in point, but the first two verses of the chapter struck me too:
"Then DREW NEAR unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man RECEIVETH SINNERS, and eateth with them."
I would be unreasonable to demand that He receive me with open arms. But as long as I see that I have needs that only He can meet, I have something to gain in drawing near.
I'll have to look into that hymn some time... Right now, there's already one ahead of it on my list of hymns to learn.
Peace! --Jacob
By Jacob, at 8:42 AM
Hey Becca:
I know... :( Actually, funny enough, I learned that one from the CBF youth when I was down there last time. Ask Jon Byler for the music so you can play it on the piano. It's got a simple enough melody that you'll pick it right up. :) Or better yet, I can sing it to you in September! :)
Jacob:
Amen! It is a daily battle, But God is ALWAYS faithful. His love is amazing...
By Ryan H, at 7:27 PM
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