What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
By: Joseph M. Scriven, 1819-1886 (1855)
Listen to this simple piano version as you read, or watch the video complete with lyrics then read. Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.
Here is podcast content always available to Subscribers, sometimes to Free Members, and occasionally to everyone. Want to learn more about accessing all the additional material in the Subscriber Content Library, click here. Or check out some other samples at our Free Member Content Library. We have lots of tools and lots of options designed to help you be Resonant! Check them out today!!
Everyone enjoy this podcast and transcript below! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures and reflections shared.
Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.
We began our journey through another great hymn Tuesday. The second half of this stanza focuses on two consequences of NOT accessing our friendship with Jesus: things we give up, and things we take on. If we pay attention, both will prompt us to take everything to Jesus. Let’s think about this.
Forfeited Peace
The first thing we will examine is what we give up by failing to access Jesus. In short, peace. To forfeit something means to lose or give up as a necessary consequence to something else.
We mostly think of forfeit in the context of sports. One team loses or is forced to give up as a necessary consequence to something else. For example, one team has to forfeit the game because they have too few players to compete. Before they even have a chance to play the game, they have to accept defeat.
In our usage, it is similar. We lose or give up the prospect of peace as a necessary consequence of neglecting our relationship with Jesus. For example, we forfeit peace as we deal with a difficult circumstance because we have not invested in our friendship with Christ. Before we even have a chance to experience His peace, we have to accept the alternative: worry, anxiety, etc.
The saddest thing of all is that He has already made His peace available to us. We can cultivate it by spending time taking things to Jesus and talking with Him about all our troubles. This time invested ushers peace into our lives as we learn to listen to the things He has said.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33 ESV
The good news is you can have peace, because Jesus has done most of the work for you. He has overcome the world! But we must take heart. How do we do that? Draw near to Jesus. Why? Because He told us we would have tribulation in this world. Not might. Will.
That passage starts off with the promise of peace, so let’s exercise it right now. What tribulation are you facing today? You do not have to think hard…it will be in the front of your mind. Will you take heart as Jesus instructs? Bring it to Him. Make the exchange. Give Him the tribulation and all your concerns swirling around it. Accept the peace He offers. Do it right now.
Now some might say they can not forfeit something they never had, but I beg to differ. Sometimes you lose even before you play the game. Sometimes your team, or you as a player, are disqualified before the game even starts. Maybe you failed to do everything to qualify, or you showed up late. There are a number of ways you can forfeit in that context, and the same is true of our relationship with Jesus. But there is one way to win. One way to keep from forfeiting. Go to Jesus!
Needless Pain
It is more often the pain we are experiencing that drives us to Jesus than the peace we have forfeited, but even still, we are sometimes reluctant to take things to Him. While the peace we forfeit is something we fail to grasp, the pain we bear is unavoidable and sometimes presses out other things in our lives. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!
I have often heard people wonder what the will of God is for them in particular circumstances. I am walking through something in this season for which I am looking to God to reveal His specific will about a particular situation. How will I deal with that? How has God instructed us to discover His will? While we wait for a specific thing to become clear, God has already made His general will for us known very clearly. Will you walk in it?
Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 ESV
So Jesus has overcome the world and invited us to take heart. The way we do that is by praying continually, and giving thanks in all circumstances. But let’s be honest, those are both more challenging than they first appear to be.
Pray without ceasing. So does this mean that I do not stop praying when someone asks me a question? Or do I half listen to them as they do, because I can not stop praying. No. It means that we pray and listen, and pray and talk, and pray and work, and pray and play, and pray and SLEEP! Yes. We keep praying. No matter what. Pray. So do not feel defeated by the reality that you have other things to do, just pray again the next chance you get, even while you grow in the discipline of praying while you are doing other things.
Give thanks in all circumstances. Learn the discipline of giving thanks to God in all circumstances. Note it does not say for all circumstances. You do not have to thank God when someone hurts you, but you could give Him thanks that He gave you the grace to respond kindly, or see past the hurt they caused to see how they are hurting. You can find a reason to give thanks to God in all circumstances because He is always working to show you His love and grace.
Ask Jesus to show Himself to you as a friend today. Think of your praying and giving thanks as conversation with a friend. Determine to talk to him in a tough situation and a terrific situation today. Just tell Him how you feel. Thank Him that He is with you. Make it your goal to take everything to Him, but start where you are and grow from there.
Jesus, show Yourself to me as friend today. Remind me to talk to You in the terrible and terrific today, In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Conversational Thinking!
Are these thoughts helping you to develop greater spiritual awareness? Sign-up in the form to the right above to get updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.
Podcast 13.1 Transcript
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.
What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear!
John 15:13 ESV
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus is our friend. He laid down His life to put Himself in a position to bear all our sins AND griefs. He is our Savior to be sure, but He is more than that. He is our friend. Are you convinced of that? Either way, ask Him to show you this truth again today.
What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer!
1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God…casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Praying is a humbling thing. It acknowledges that we are not in control, and we like to be in control! But when we cast all our anxieties on the Lord convinced that He cares for us, humility becomes a beautiful thing. Welcome His mighty hand today!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear,
John 16:33 ESV
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
Our peace has been purchased through His sacrifice, so why do we often try to accomplish it ourselves? Certainly, we have a part to play in welcoming it, but we only create more trouble when we try to achieve it. How do we take heart? Turn to our Overcomer and Friend, and surrender.
All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer!
Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
So what is our role? Pray and give thanks. Talk to God constantly, asking and giving. A continuous flow of please and thank you changes our perspective. How kind that this is God’s will for us. Not striving, but talking. Talk to Jesus right now. Pray and give thanks.
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.
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time, be Resonant.
The post Learning to Use Your Lips and Life appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
Forfeited Peace – https://pixabay.com/photos/hands-grasses-sunset-feel-touch-2667461/
Needless Pain – https://pixabay.com/photos/people-emotion-dramatic-female-1492052/
Leave a Reply