The next song for my Blog is a hymn that was written in 1963 by Bill Gaither. This old gospel song tried to put into the words what it is like when we feel the touch of Jesus and how our lives are changed forever. A link to the Gaither Vocal Band performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.
He Touched Me
Shackled by a heavy burden
‘Neath a load of guilt and shame
Then the hand of Jesus touched me
And I am no longer the same
He touched me, Oh He touched me
And oh the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole
Since I met this blessed Savior
Since He cleansed and made me whole
I will never cease to praise him
I’ll shout it while eternity rolls
He touched me, Oh He touched me
And oh the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole.
Do you ever take time to think about the burdens you carry? My guess is that the list is much longer than you thought and you almost get depressed as you think about the load these burdens place on your heart and shoulders. Burdens come in many forms such as health, family, relationships, jobs, the life we are living, mistakes we have made, and the list goes on. These burdens are always upon us and as the writer states, we are shackled to this load we are carrying. To state in more simply, we are in bondage to these burdens every day of our life. Wow, just thinking about this can really get you down. How do we get out of this pit of despair? Since we are not strong enough to overcome our situation alone, the only way we can escape is through Christ. Once we accepted him as our savior, he is always with us, even during our darkest times and is there to help us with our burdens and bring us peace. Matthew 11:28 states Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. It is true that we will still have burdens, but they will be much lighter with Christ giving us the peace and support we need to carry on. Just to know we are never alone helps us to face and overcome the obstacles we face each day. In our deepest and darkest times, we can rejoice in the fact that this life is temporary and at the end of our earthly life, we will live eternity in peace and love with no burdens. Jesus will surround us with his peace today and with his arms for eternity.
The chorus of the song references the joy that floods our soul once we feel the touch and love of Jesus. Without Jesus we have a heart of despair with no hope and we feel the burdens continue to weigh us down. With the presence of Jesus, we are given a promise of an incredible eternal life and just the thought of it fills our heart with a love and peace so deep that words can hardly describe. We know the joy that Christ has in his heart and of his love for us; he shared this fact with us in John 15:11, I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! Because of the joy that Christ has placed in our hearts, we are now complete and will never be alone again as we face the trials that come our way.
If you have already accepted Christ as your personal savior, have you taken the time to reflect on how your life has changed? There are still challenges in life and perhaps we face some new challenges by acknowledging we have accepted Christ, but it is awesome knowing that we have been freed from all sin. One thing the writer points out is that since the day he was touched by the hand of Jesus, he has never stopped praising him and will continue to praise him throughout eternity. Also note that the writer says he is shouting his praises, he is not afraid or ashamed to let people know about his savior.
Have you been touched by the hand of Christ? If so, are those around you aware of the joy you have and of the joy they are missing?
Click here to see the Gaither Vocal Band Perform He Touched Me.