Hymns for a New Year: Tis so Sweet

     When I was a little girl, I would occasionally sing special music at church back when singing to a Steve Green or Sandy Patty sound track wa,s popular.  My mom had many sound tracks and a beautiful, professionally trained voice.  I had the voice of a little girl willing to belt it out for the Lord and my song most sung was "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus".  I was reminded of this beautiful old hymn this weekend, and we even sang it in church this morning!  A hymn I haven't heard in ages! I remember practicing and singing to that sound track and even learning the guitar chords later when I was older and had my first guitar.  It holds new, deeper, sweeter meaning to me now than it did then.

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

,

Just to take Him at His Word
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know, "Thus saith the Lord!

        I ask myself, is it enough for me just to rest on who He says I am and on His promise to complete that which pertains to me?  It is so good to know that when all else fails, He never fails.  And when circumstance seems to fly in the face of His Word,  I have a choice: will I trust what His Word says or will I fear based on what I see? Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!

How I've proved Him o'er and o'er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

     It seems that no matter how much you've trusted Him in the past, no matter what circumstances you've overcome, the next time life mounts an obstacle or difficulty, we tend often toward distrust rather than trust, fear rather than faith.  When we lift our eyes to Him in faith, He proves Himself once again and even that little wavering trust, or lifting of our eyes to Him is grace. Oh for the grace to trust Him unshakably, to take all things as a gift and receive it with joy, trusting that, having come from His hand, He has purposes to do great and transformative things in and through me by this circumstance.

I'm so glad I learned to trust Him,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend
And I know that He is with me,
Will be with me to the end.

Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood
And in simple faith to plunge me
'Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

     Oh the beauty when we quit striving and stressing and trying to make things happen or make ourselves clean or perfect, when we rest in what He has already accomplished and trust in His ongoing accomplishment in us, this is peace!  And this kind of trust doesn't come by easy living, uneventful and "blessed".  That doesn't require faith and trust.  The very nature of faith and trust is that it is exercised and necessary when it seems  to contradict everything we see, feel and experience.  It is the trials of fire, of pain and suffering, that produce a sweet trust that magnifies the name of Jesus and makes room for Him to work miracles and prove Himself once more.  He will do it.  He will do it every time and it will likely never look like what you expect but it will be good and produce works of righteousness and peace.  The process often seems messy to us, even scandalous, but I find it interesting, observing numerous Biblical accounts, that GOD is not afraid of what seems scandalous. Sometimes,  I think He delights in doing things so very different from what we would expect, not what we would perceive as neatly packaged, and watching us trying to figure it out, delighting over mysteries and our search for truth.

 The following is the story behind this hymn, reiterating that great words of truth are rarely the product of peaceful times but of the crucible of suffering, revealing the purity and refinement of Truth when all else has been stripped away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw2iiQo7apE

   I like the words to the bridge in this version of the song: "So, I won't walk by what I see or what's been spoken over me that doesn't line up with Your Word that's written on my heart, and I won't worry, I will not fear because I know that You are near, whispering peace be still, whispering peace be still over me."   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv-CTnfQT2k 

     Jesus, trusting You is a grace and sweet peace, unrivaled by any other pleasure.  To find You in the midst of suffering and to find You all sufficient is worth it all, a priceless treasure.  Oh, for the grace to trust You more, for trust to become the unshakable default in all circumstances, that the waters of my soul would hardly ripple when trials should come, or even the sometimes more difficult little daily inconveniences, words taken the wrong way, or responded to poorly or chaos in the home or heart.  Sometimes I find it easier to walk in peace and trust in the big things and get all stirred up with the hundred little daily things. Speak "peace, be still" over these things that gentlness and sweetness of the lips would every be on my tongue. Thank You for giving us an unshakable kingdom. Grant that I should walk in the peace of that kingdom, counting it all joy.