This next song for my Blog was written by Helen H. Lemmel in 1918 and was published in 1922 as a part of the Glad Songs collection. Since that time, the song has been performed by many artists and included in numerous versions of hymnals. A link to Alan Jackson performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conqu’rors we are!
Chorus
His Word shall not fail you, He promised;
Believe Him and all will be well;
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!
Chorus
What a soul-searching song, I cannot remember the first time I sang this song in church; but it has always been one of my favorites. Listening to this song brings such peace as I close my eyes, close out the world, and reflect on the words.
How was your day today, how was your yesterday, how does your tomorrow look? Are you just tired of your life in general and are you carrying way too many burdens and worries as you live each day? I believe most, if not all of us, are in this same situation. Most days, it is hard to see the light in the darkness of life. We are so overwhelmed with all of the worries we have, the tasks we have to accomplish, the dependencies others have on us, and what tomorrow may bring. As all of this brings us to our knees and we open our heart to Jesus, we can see light. We can remember the promises he made, the lessons he shared, and the eternal home waiting on us. It is in these promises that we have the light of eternal life and the promise that he will be with us every step of our lives and take us through every challenge we face. Matthew 11:28-29 tells us: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” It doesn’t mean we won’t have challenges and disappointments, but it does mean we will not be alone and that there is always light if we just reach for it.
The chorus tells us exactly what we need to do. We need to turn our eyes upon Jesus and he will help us to block out the world. What we see and we feel as we look into his eyes are his love and his compassion. We can see the hope that only he can bring and the light that can pierce the darkest of days. His glory radiates and encloses us and we feel his grace, loving us in spite of our failures and our mistakes.
Jesus came to earth so he could walk with us, to show us he loved us, to let us know that he understood this world and the darkness we would always face. He knew that we needed to be able to see him and touch him to strengthen our faith. He even suffered rejection, scorn, and humiliation just for us. Jesus did all of this to let us know that he knew what earthly life was all about. He then paid the ultimate sacrifice on the cross and afterwards arose to go to be with the father and prepare our heavenly home. John 14:2-3 confirms this: “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” Because of him dying for us and taking away our sins, sin no longer has control over us. It is an absolute that we will still have bad days and challenges and that Satan and sin may win battles along the way, but the victory belongs to Jesus. We have therefore already won the war and the ultimate prize, eternal life and the eventual banishment of Satan. It is true that faith is the victory. 1 John 5:4 states: “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.”
God’s word is unfailing and he keeps his promises, there are many scriptures supporting this. In Hebrews 10:23, we are told “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” We just need to reach out to him and he will help us with our journey and help us to overcome all things, no matter how difficult the mountains we are facing. We know the reward; we just need to trust in him during our journey until it is our time to settle in our heavenly home. God has made his promise to us and he expects us to share this promise with others. We live in a world that seems to become more evil and sinful every day. The world likes to pretend there is no God and there is no salvation, but we are commanded to spread the love of Jesus wherever we go. The world has died to sin and the only escape is the salvation that only Christ can give us. He is the only path to eternal life and he alone is the one who can help us carry our burdens and keep us focused on the light.
We all need to stop and turn our eyes and our hearts upon Jesus.