“What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
“Oh how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
“What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
“Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.”
In 1887, this simple yet powerful hymn was published by Elisha A. Hoffman and Anthony J. Showalter. Songs so old can still be sung today, because the meaning of their words are still relevant.
I remember last April, I was looking up hymns that I could play for the prelude part of my church’s morning service. I stumbled upon a hymn that my church hadn't sung for awhile and thought it would be a great choice since it is a familiar song. I have to admit that I had developed a bad habit of picking out pieces for the service on Saturday night, or even Sunday morning. This never gives me a chance to practice, for one thing; but maybe more importantly, it doesn't give me any time to actually read the lyrics of the song I'm playing. But I want the congregation to not only hear the melody, but to listen to the words as well.
We all have fears. Fears of losing someone, fears of heights, fears of failure, and maybe fears of not making it financially. One question every Christian needs to ask themselves is: "Am I leaning on Christ’s everlasting arms?" To be honest, I've always felt that I've handled all of my problems, all of my concerns, all of my burdens correctly by giving them to Christ. But "do I leave those problems at the alter? or do I take them back?" Did I tell Jesus that I wouldn't worry about my problems and five minutes later find myself thinking about those same things again? These questions make us reflect on on how we've handled trials in the past and might make us wonder how we can handle them in the future.
The third verse of this particular hymn really got to me the most: "What have I to dread, what have I to fear..?" When we think about how great our God is compared to not only our day-to-day problems but those unexpected difficulties that come around once in awhile, we see that God is much more powerful than all of the disastrous problems in the world combined! If God determines who wins wars, if God cares for even the smallest sparrow, He certainly cares about our problems, our needs, and we should never be afraid when He is on our side. Because when we rely on His wisdom, then comes that “blessed peace” when we take our fears to Christ and rest in His arms.
As we read in the last few chapters in Genesis, we see Joseph's conflict of being sold into slavery by his brothers, falsely accused of a crime, and thrown into a prison. But after Pharaoh's disturbing dreams, Joseph was given a position over all the land of Egypt that equaled the power of Pharaoh himself. When Joseph was reunited with his brothers, he had compassion on them; realizing that without the trials, he wouldn't have been there in Egypt to save their lives. He said to them:
"But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it this day, to save many people." ~Genesis 50:20
Though our trials don't look like they will have an incredible outcome, God wants us to remain positive and "lean in His everlasting arms"; because there is no difficulty that we experience in this life that God doesn't have a perfect ending for.
Leaning on the everlasting arms.”
Blessings,
Anna
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