The Sweet and Low Whisper of Jesus

In Saturday’s post, I shared that our family was going on a little adventure last weekend.  Here’s what that involved.

Since my husband was teaching a class near Buffalo, NY, our daughters and I flew up at the end of the week so that we could all go to Niagara Falls together.

While the weather was chilly and drizzly, we enjoyed the trip and made some fun memories!

As I’ve mentioned previously, I try to read a hymn as part of my devotional time in the morning.  Over the next few blog posts, I wanted to write out some thoughts from hymns I’ve been looking at lately.  I hope they’ll be as encouraging to you as they have been to me!

Sometimes we may approach hymns like we do familiar Bible verses.  We’ve read or sung them so many times over the years that we just go through the motions without really thinking about what we’re saying.

While I’ve never considered “There’s Within My Heart a Melody” by Luther Bridges a favorite song of mine, these lines spoke to me as I read them.

“Jesus whispers sweet and low,
‘Fear not, I am with thee, Peace be still.’
In all of life’s ebb and flow.”

It’s such a simple truth, yet what comfort it offers!  Here’s a few corresponding Bible passages.

“ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” ~Isaiah 41:10

“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” ~Joshua 1:9

“ Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” ~John 14:27

I love hearing how many times in the Bible God tells us not to be afraid.  There’s so much I can think of that I fear in the “ebb and flow” of life.  They include some of the following:

• pain and sickness in my own life, or in the life of someone I love
• loneliness
• old age
• harm coming to my family
• unfulfilled dreams
• uncertainty about the future

I’m sure you could help me add to this list, but no matter what you or I are afraid of, there’s one simple reason we don’t have to give in to fear.  God is with us.  He has promised to never leave us or forsake us.  And beyond that, He has promised us His peace.

Also, the phrase “peace be still” reminds me of the story of the disciples, floundering on the sea in a storm, losing all hope.  Then Jesus steps to the bow of the boat and utters those words.  Instant calm.

Today we can rest in the sweet whisper of Jesus, “I am here.  Don’t be afraid.”

I’ve shared this song before, but it seems so appropriate for today’s message.

[If you’re reading in e-mail, you’ll have to click over to the blog to view the video above.]

Related posts:
Using Bible Verses to Fight My Fears
How We Can Fight Our Fear of Getting Bad News
How to Develop a God-Honoring Thought Life