How Great Thou Art

The next entry for my Blog is How Great Thou Art, which was written by Karl Gustav Boberg and was modified by Stuart Hine.  The song was initially released Mar 13, 1886.  A link to Carrie Underwood performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

How Great Thou Art

Oh Lord, my God
When I, in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration
And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Well, I have finally selected a song that has been on my heart for a very long time.  I have always been hesitant to take on this song since it is so powerful and so well known. 

I believe that most of us have at sometime in our life, stopped to admire a stunning sunset, a stream gurgling its way through the woods, and maybe a glorious sunrise as we awaken to a new day.  Unfortunately, we rarely take the time to take in everything that has happened in our lives and how we have been positively impacted by others.  How many times have you stopped and just thanked God for everything he has done?  Many times, we think about family, friends, possessions, and maybe places we have been; but we don’t take the time to thank God for all he has done for us.  In this song, I believe the writer has taken the time to think about all that God has done and he is blown away.  He is not just thinking about what is going on around him, but all of creation and how God created the entire universe, the stars, the planets and even the sheer power of a thunderstorm.  All of this created by the hand of God!

As the writer thinks about this great power, he starts singing from deep inside.  He is not talking about singing along with others in church or singing along with the radio, but it is a voice from deep within; a voice from his very soul that is worshipping our Lord and Savior.  Such a powerful and moving chorus.  It is as if he is finally realizing how great and powerful our God is and that nothing is impossible for him.  This powerful refrain occurs three times in the song and it seems as if it builds in strength and power throughout the song.

God created this world for mankind and it was a perfect world with everything we could ever need.  Unfortunately, mankind started listening to the temptations offered by the devil and lost their perfect place on earth.   They traded their perfect lives for an imperfect world that was overcome with sin.  Many people totally turned their backs on God and lost their relationship with him.  Over time, as God watched his creation continue to wander away from him, he knew it was time to take action to bring his people back.  He wanted us to sense his presence always, no matter where we were or what we had done.  To accomplish this objective, God sent a piece of himself, his only son, to come to earth.  This son, named Jesus, came to show God’s love; and then had to suffer and die on the cross so that all of us could restore our relationship with God.  Jesus was nailed to the cross as the ultimate sacrifice for all of our sins; and this was done just so we could once again have a harmonious relationship with God.  This is the real definition of true love.  The only action required of us to rebuild our relationship with God and secure eternal life with him in heaven, is to accept Jesus as our personal savior and recognize that his earthly death secured our eternal life in heaven.  God loved us enough to give us his only son so that all of our wrongdoings would be erased for eternity.  John 3:16 tells us of God’s love; “For this is how God loved the world, He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

The even better news is that the story has not ended, we are still waiting for God’s next step; which he has promised.  Jesus, the son of God, who died on the cross for our wrongdoings; is coming back one more time!  We are told that the trumpets will sound as Jesus and the angels come back to earth.  Everyone alive who has yet to accept Jesus as their personal savior will get one more chance for eternal life and a reunion with friends and family who are already in heaven.  We find this in 1 Thes 4:16-17: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”   I can’t even imagine what that moment will be like for those who are alive when it happens.  I envision everyone who accepts Jesus at this time, will be falling to their knees in adoration and wonder and then be swept away into heaven with him. 

My God, how great thou art!

Thank God I Do

The next entry for my Blog is Thank God I Do, which was written by Alecia B. Moore, Jason David Ingram, Jeffrey Bhasker, Lauren Ashley Daigle, and Nathaniel Ruess.  The song was initially released March 8, 2023.  A link to Lauren Daigle performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Thank God I Do

I’ve seen love come and I’ve seen love walk away
So many questions, will anybody stay?
It’s been a hard year, so many nights in tears
All of the darkness, tryin’ to fight my fears

Alone
So long alone

I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know You
I’d probably fall off the edge
I don’t know where I’d go if You ever let go
So keep me held in Your hands

I’ve started breathing, the weight is lifted here
With you it’s easy, my head is finally clear
There’s nothin’ missing when You are by my side
I took the long road, but now I realize

I’m home
With You, I’m home

I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know You
I’d probably fall off the edge
I don’t know where I’d go if You ever let go
So keep me held in Your hands
I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know You
I’d probably fall off the edge
I don’t know where I’d go if You ever let go
So keep me held in Your hands

You’re my safe place, my hideaway
You’re my anchor, my saving grace
You’re my constant, my steadiness
You’re my shelter, my oxygen

I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know You
Thank God I do

I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know You
I’d probably fall off the edge
I don’t know where I’d go if You ever let go
So keep me held in Your hands
I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know You
Thank God I do

 

 

Have you been in love before and believed that the relationship you were in was going to last forever?  If/When our first love doesn’t work out, we are just devastated and initially think we will never love again and may never feel loved again.  Maybe we go through this cycle multiple times in our lives and start to wonder, will I ever find that right one?  How many times will my heart be broken?  People that enter this seemingly endless and vicious cycle just want to give up; they just can’t imagine living through yet another broken relationship.  Every night becomes a sad night, a night of sadness, and a night of tears.  Have you been there and felt this intense loneliness and heartbreak that just sucks the life out of you?  Even worse is you feel as if you are all alone and every minute of feeling this way seems like an eternity.

The good news is that love, hope, and warmth can be found through faith, faith in Jesus Christ as our lord and savior.  He will never leave us and we are told this in the book of Deuteronomy 31:8, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”    All we need to do is reach out our hearts and our hands to Christ and he will wrap his arms around us and fill us with hope and love.  So many people try to find their own way and their way leads them to drugs, to alcohol, false hopes, and into despair and they may ultimately fall over the edge that is referenced by the song.  The weight of our sorrow and loneliness is so great that we struggle to breathe, to survive, and just to take another step.  The words of the song encourage us to keep holding the hand of God and he will keep us from falling into the pit of despair and from falling over the proverbial edge.

As we start to realize that we are never alone and that we have the power of God supporting us, we start feeling a glimmer of hope.  We can start to live again and dream about a new beginning of hope, the sun is finally lighting up the sky as the clouds of despair disappear.  We can finally take those deep breaths and feel our lungs fill with the air of relief as opposed to the shortness of breath we felt during our despair.  At the same time, we start to realize that we are never alone and will never be alone again.  It doesn’t mean that our path will always be smooth and that every dream will come true, but we will never be alone and there will always be hope through God and his son.  The sad part is that so many of us get lost and struggle for so long before we ever bring God into our lives.  We traveled through the valley of despair and darkness for a long time before we asked for help from the only source that can hold us, love us, and guide us.  The path to this realization can be a very long one, but God’s response is immediate once we turn it all over to him.

Once we feel the presence of the hand of God, we realize we will never be alone and that at long last, we are home and in the company of someone who truly loves us, who will never reject us, and will never let go.  He becomes our safe place, a place where we can escape from the world and find peace.  We may have friends or family that change and move on with their lives and leave us alone, but the bible tells that Jesus never changes, which means his love for us is forever and that his commitment to us is unwavering. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”   You may turn your back on Jesus, the son of God, who should be your best friend, but he will never turn his back on you.  When you are looking for that hand to lift you up, his hand is already extended to you, all you have to do is grab his hand then feel the peace that only he can bring.

Notice in the song where the writer describes God as being a safe place, a hideaway, an anchor, a saving grace, a constant, a source of stability, a shelter, and a fresh breath.  Aren’t these things we look for in a best friend?  Don’t we all desire a best friend or even a group of friends who can provide all of this to us?  Isn’t it true that although we expect all of this from our best friends, they can never meet every one of our needs?  We all need good friends to turn to, but the only friend we have who can meet our every need is Jesus.  Jesus is the only constant we will ever have in our lives.  Isn’t it a good feeling to know that even though you feel as if you are on the edge of the precipice of life, there is someone ready to pull you back and give you unconditional love?

Thank God I do.

Click to Hear Lauren Daigle Perform Thank God I Do