Love Lifted Me

The next entry for my BLOG is Love Lifted Me, a well-known hymn written by James Rowe in 1912.  The melody is by Howard E. Smith.  A link to Alan Jackson singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Love Lifted Me

I was sinking deep in sin
Far from the peaceful shore
Very deeply stained within
Sinking to rise no more
But the Master of the sea
Heard my despairing cry
From the waters lifted me
Now safe am I

Love lifted me
Love lifted me
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me
Love lifted me
Love lifted me
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me

All my heart to Him I give
Ever to Him I’ll cling
In His blessed presence live
Ever His praises sing
Love so mighty and so true
Merits my soul’s best songs
Faithful loving service too
To Him belongs

Love lifted me
Love lifted me
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me
Love lifted me
Love lifted me
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me

Souls in danger look above
Jesus completely saves
He will lift you by His love
Out of the angry waves
He’s the Master of the sea
Billows His will obey
He your Savior wants to be
Be saved today

Have you ever been out on a boat or ship and went so far out that you could no longer see any land?  This can be a very frightening situation for most people, especially if the wind starts blowing harder and waves start getting higher.  No matter how intensely we look, the shoreline is nowhere to be seen.  Sometimes our life feels as if we are a long way from that peaceful shore, even though we are standing on dry land.  It still feels as if we are either swimming around in circles or just stuck in the mud.  We all get caught up in life and we gradually get overwhelmed with everything going on around us.  Eventually we lose sight of that solid ground and peaceful shore

Our life has become quicksand and the more we struggle, the more we sink.  The real problem is that the quicksand in our life is actually made up of the poor choices we have made over the years.  These poor choices, accumulated over time, gradually lead us to a sense of hopelessness.  We lose all inner peace and can no longer see the peaceful shore that we struggle so hard to find.  As we continue to struggle, sink, and drift farther from that shore; we realize there is a master of life and the sea.  The master always hears our cries, but waits for us to reach out to him from our heart.  Why does he wait?   He waits because we have not reached out to him.  We have a tendency to ignore the master until a time of desperation and despair.  In spite of us neglecting him day in and day out, he is still there to answer our call.  Our master is Jesus Christ, the son of God.  He alone can calm the seas we are drowning in as well as our own internal strife and pain.  We have a tendency to ignore him when things are good and then yell for him or at him when things are bad.  He still loves us unconditionally in spite of how we treat him.  He is the only one who can truly lift us up.  He alone can give us eternal life, he alone can bring us happiness in a dark dark world, and he alone has that unconditional love.  Not only do we have his love, but our faith in him secures our eternal home.

The way to make him the master of your life is to give him your heart.  By giving him your heart, you put him above all else in life.  Your family and friends are important and you should love them dearly, but the only way you can have eternal life is to make Jesus number one and accept him as your personal savior.  Giving your heart to him and making him first, does not diminish your love for your family in any way.  In fact, if you really love your family and friends; you will tell them about Jesus and how all of you can spend eternity together instead of just the few short years we have on earth.  Never lose sight of his love and you will feel his presence wherever you are.  You will also feel his presence and guidance in every step you take and every decision you make.  His love is powerful and everlasting, he is eternal, and there is nothing that can defeat him.  The song tells us to sing his praises from deep inside and that we should sing songs to him of love and praise.  He doesn’t care which song you sing, which book you sing from, or from where you are singing; he just wants you to sing with joy from your heart.  As you think about what God has done in your life and how he can pull you out of the deepest ocean of darkness, doesn’t he deserve our faithfulness?  Who else can do what he does for us?

The song references our soul being in danger as the angry waves of life take their toll on us.  Is your soul in danger; how do you know?  We all make our choices, if we accept Christ as our personal savior then we have a guarantee of eternal life with him in heaven.  If we do not accept him, which by default means we reject him, then we spend eternity with the devil in hell.  So we have the choice and we choose where we want to spend eternity.  Jesus in the master who wants us to spend eternity with him.  He is the one who controls the wind and the waves, nothing can stand up to him.

In the book of Mark 4:34-41, we find the story of how Jesus calmed the storm when his disciples were afraid their boat was going to capsize.  Although this was something that I believe occurred, I also believe this is the same situation we face as we fight the battles in life.  We become overwhelmed and fail to put our faith in the only one who can take us out of the darkness.  “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.  A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?  He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.  He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”  They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

He wants you to be saved today, to give your soul to him, don’t wait until it is too late. 

Click to Hear Alan Jackson Sing Love Lifted Me