Many of the words of this hymn were in my thoughts yesterday and I could sing some of it but couldn’t recall the rest of the hymn or determine what it is.

Today I searched on the internet to locate matching lyrics and came upon it quickly.

Many of our great hymns were penned by people who had suffered great loss. Experience is a teacher, and experience with the Savior all the more.

Joseph M. Scriven is the author and was born in Dublin Ireland in 1819. He graduated from Trinity College and became engaged. Sadly his fiancé died in a drowning accident the night before their wedding.

He then immigrated to Canada where he fell in love again and became engaged. She too also became ill and died before the wedding.

Around the same time he received word that his mother was ill and he could not travel to her. He sent a letter including the words of this hymn, which was only a poem at the time.

No doubt the pain from the losses of his two fiancés and perhaps other experiences grew his faith and drove him close to the Savor. It is wonderful that we can learn from his experience and that he chose to take up the pen.

Charles C. Converse put the poem to music almost 30 years later.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.

 

Version History
1.00 – December 1, 2018

Life has periods of still and those of turbulence. My tendency is carry all my concerns and attempt to correct those I can, no matter the difficulty or the impossibility. The weight can be very heavy, but none of us are intended to carry such burdens.

The weight on my shoulders was immense yesterday—many things, one of which is medically related. As I waited in the doctor’s office, I feared what the doctor would say, what he would find. God told me He is my peace as I waited and I calmed down some. Amusingly the monitor in the office, which had been rotating through several drug advertisements, moved to displaying the words, “Waiting is sometimes the most difficult part of being in the doctors office. But your doctor wants you to relax.” God wants me to relax, too.

The outcome with my doctor was much better than expected and that lifted a burden. But there was still all the remaining issues I was carrying.

I was awakened early this morning. He asked me to come away with Him for awhile. I wanted to remain in bed and asked if I could do so there (I was still very tired) and he said I’d fall back asleep. So I left to go to the quietest place in my home.

I was well aware of the areas for which I needed to talk to Him so started there. Not finding my rest in Him was one of them.

As I prayed I was reminded that He will give His angels charge over me. As I pondered that I was reminded of a young child becoming afraid and his father saying to him, “Don’t worry, Daddy has you.”

Abba Father has me. He has you, too. We don’t need to fear. We must cast all our cares on Him, because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). Telling God about our fears is one part of it, but we need to actually cast the fears to Him—not simply tell Him about them. When the cares are casted away from us, the cares are no longer with us.

For my scripture reading, I read Psalm 91 given the earlier pondering of the words “And He will give His angels charge over thee.”

Psalm 91 shows us so well how much He has us. And in all of this He asks only one thing—that we put our trust in Him (verse 2).

Psalm 91 NKJV
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you,
or shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

14 Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.

 

Version History
1.00 – November 30, 2018
1.01 – September 2, 2019

Yes, God has hardened men’s hearts. This can be an uncomfortable subject and can have profound impacts on one’s beliefs. 

But under what circumstances and to what purposes might he harden men’s hearts?

In Does God Harden Men’s Hearts?, I explore these questions in God hardening Pharaoh’s heart.

If you’ve been a believer for a while, you’ve no doubt heard or read Micah 6:8. It is indeed beautiful prose and songs have been based on it.

I’ve been reading it over and over, and playing songs based on it. It has taken hold of me and I see much more in it than I had previously.

It is truly one of the most grand verses in the Bible and worth another look, or many more for that matter. In the troubled times we live, Micah 6:8 says so much. Of course, God’s word is always relevant. 

Micah 6:8 NKJV
8 He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

In the article, Micah 6:8, I share my thoughts on this subject and how to do it well.

Most of us have heard about walking with God, but what is it? Walking with God is an analogous pictorial description from the Bible of having an active relationship with God, such as two walking on a long journey. It’s also called walking in the Spirit.

All believers walk with God but do we do it well? Our walking with God–our relationship with God–is not only critical for us, but it can be extremely rewarding as well.

In the article, Walking with God, I share my thoughts on this subject and how to do it well.

Have you ever been reading the Bible and stumbled across a difficult verse or passage—where something seems odd or perhaps what is written of God seems out of character?

Or perhaps have you encountered someone of a different persuasion and they think the Bible says one thing and you know it doesn’t mean what they think it means? You throw countering verses at them and they counter with verses to your countering versus. 

Eventually all of us will encounter such events. 

But what can we do? 

How can we understand and interpret the scriptures, and better yet know we understand them?

In the article, Understanding the Bible, I share my thoughts on this subject.

Have you ever been listening to popular Christian music and thought, “Hey! Is that really right?” I certainly have. I’ve been listening to MercyMe music quite a bit after having watched the movie I Can Only Imagine. One song that left me with such a question is “Flawless”. One line of the lyrics is “He made us flawless.” Really? Flawless…me? That’s not how I’ve been seeing it.

When we don’t understand this righteousness we miss out on much that God has granted us.

In the article, Righteousness, I explore what the Bible tells us. I sincerely hope you will be blessed.

How can we deal with the storms of life? We long for their end, but even when they do end, the clouds soon again form. I briefly tackle this issue in the article, Grace and Peace and the Storm.

Does 2 Chronicles 7:14 apply to us, even in the USA today?

In the article, Healing Our Land, I address this question. I welcome your thoughts.