Can You Hear It?

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

I Need Thee Every Hour
By: Annie S. Hawks, 1836-1911 (1872)

Listen to this beautiful piano version as you read, or watch the video then read. Please be sure to experience the worship-cultivating podcast below.

We consider the latter part of this first stanza today.  As we do, we delve into our need for peace and the reality that there is no other to be found that compares to what God offers.  That said, why do we not pursue it with greater abandon?  Let’s think about this.

For Rhyme’s Sake

This is an interesting line that requires a little thinking to confirm the obvious statement at the initial look.  It seems to be saying “No tender voice can afford peace like Thine.”  It first almost looks like “No tender voice like Thine can afford peace”, implying that any voice like God’s is similarly unable to give peace, which is the opposite of what is trying to be communicated.

Hymns are sometimes guilty of moving words out of order to make the rhyme.   I think this is an example of that.  Here is what one author suggested our hymn writer is trying to say.  “No [other] tender voice furnishes peace [to me] quite as well as yours does.”  You can find the explanation of that interpretation here.

Tender Voice

With that in mind, let us consider now the different aspects that make up this second line.

The first thought that comes to me when I think of God’s tender voice is Jesus describing Himself as the Good Shepherd.  You can read the larger context in John 10, but we will press in to one verse to grasp the imagery.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27 ESV

We have all found ourselves in the position of that lost sheep, only to realize too late that we have wandered away from the protection of the shepherd, sometimes willfully and sometimes not.  When we realize that we are in a place void of peace what we long for is to hear the voice that ushers it back to us.

We can trust we will hear that voice when we have first confessed our need of Him.  What is truly needful though is to develop an awareness of our continual need.  This helps us cultivate a desire to listen for His voice more often, which keeps us from listening to other voices and protects us from some of the trouble we otherwise end up in.

Maybe today you lack peace.  We have all been there.  Ask your gentle, tender Shepherd to speak to you.  Ask Him to help you hear His tender voice, and to move toward it with the confidence He is already moving toward you.  If you have peace today, ask Him to speak so you can better know His tender voice and be even more ready when the next threat to your peace comes.

Affords Peace

The use of the word afford here means to give.  No voice gives us peace like the tender voice of Jesus.  And how we need to hear His voice, not only when peace seems to be slipping away, but every hour.

We must be vigilant to listen for two reasons.

1. His voice is tender
2. Other sounds attempt to overshadow it

I think of how God revealed Himself to Elijah in the still, small voice of I Kings 19.  Though His voice spoke everything into being in Genesis 1-2, it seldom breaks forth with that kind of obvious power.  He wants us to choose to listen, so He speaks with a voice the requires we do, rather than one that demands it.

A little later in John our Good Shepherd offers this promise.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27 ESV

Troubles and fears echo in our souls.  They threaten to drown out the tender voice of God.  We must train our ears to listen for Him.

I heard someone say once that we should speak into our children’s lives in the quiet moments so that when the storms come they are accustomed to our hearing our voices and trust that we will help them.  This is exactly what our Father wants to do.  But we must be listening in the quiet times so we are ready when the noise comes.

And let’s be honest it is hard to discipline ourselves to do that.  When trouble comes we are desperate to hear from God.  But if we have not already learned to listen it will be more difficult to identify His voice.  When we learn to declare regularly how much we need Him, every hour at the very least, we will be better equipped to hear His tender voice, and receive the peace it affords.

Ask Jesus to help you routinely listen for His tender voice.  Discipline yourself to be quiet so you can identify it.  Then when troubles and fears assail your soul, you will be able to cling to peace like nothing this world affords.

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Subscribers and Free Members enjoy this podcast! Everyone else the transcript below! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures and reflections shared.

Welcome to Thursday Thoughts at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s think about this.

I need Thee every hour,

Psalm 40:17 ESV

As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

This is a great place to begin, confessing our need of God, and why not?  This Scripture speaks what we know to be true, the Lord takes thought of me.  We know it to be true because He has delivered us before, so cry out every hour with the Psalmist, “Do not delay, O my God!”

   most gracious Lord;

Isaiah 30:18 ESV 

…the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

And He will not delay because of this incredible promise, that He actually waits to be gracious, and exalts Himself when He shows mercy.   He is just and faithfully blesses all who wait for Him. Tell Him you need Him, then wait for His grace to flow.

No tender voice like Thine

John 10:27 ESV

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

He is our gentle shepherd.  He speaks and we hear His voice.  But we not only hear it, we obey. Why?  Because we are convinced He knows, knows what is best for us, and has the authority to bring it to pass.  Ask Him to help you hear His voice as you wait.

   can peace afford.

John 14:27 ESV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

And this is what we hear when we listen to His voice.  Peace. Not like the world gives, but as only He can. Peace is not the absence of conflict.  Peace is the presence of God. Tell Him you will listen for His voice in trouble and when fears come so you may receive His peace.

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has come to your mind, or listen to what He is saying to you, then I will read our text once more.

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

Take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, be Resonant.