|
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.
Oh, what peace we
often forfeit; oh, 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 your friends
despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer.
In his arms he’ll
take and shield you; you will find a solace there.
Text: Joseph
Scriven, 1820-1886
My first
connection to this hymn dates to an early Sunday school class. My
teacher encouraged me to pray and ask God’s forgiveness for my
sins. I was cautious about opening up that whole can of worms. A
6-year-old with a kid sister can muster quite a list of sins.
I had tried a few
times to confess sins to my father, and I had been sent to my room
to ponder the error of my ways. I decided to clam up about sins.
Dad came up with
a new approach. He told me he could look into my eyes and tell
whether I was being truthful. He tried those X-ray eyes on me, and
darned if he couldn’t make it work.
My Sunday school
teacher asked about my friends. Did I have special friends I could
sit down and talk with, friends I could trust? I told her about my
best friends, but Jesus wasn’t on the list. I loved Jesus, but I
had not thought of him as my friend. The teacher described a
picture of Jesus sitting at his father’s side while I was praying
… father and son, my friends in the heavenly kingdom.
We went through
all the verses of the hymn. Line by line, I began to understand. I
have a friend in Jesus, a friend who knows my every weakness and
loves me anyway. (That’s even better than my dad’s eye trick!) I
can share my sorrows with Jesus, my faithful friend; I can even
share my sins. With Jesus as my friend, I can take everything to
God in prayer.
Thank you, Lord,
for sharing your son, my friend Jesus, with us. And thank you for
inspiring all the little miracles that happen every week in Sunday
school classes around the world.
Tom Cronk
|
