Anthem

It's been a while since we sang hymns at our church. We used to do a couple each week, but the man who led that is getting older and has stepped down with no one to replace him. Man, I miss Brother Buddy and some good old hymns.

And I feel like the church is missing something by discarding the hymns and replacing them with praise and worship. Don't get me wrong, I love praise and worship, but there is something that a hymn brings that other worship doesn't. They are simple and to the point. Reminding us of the sacrifice of Jesus, or rejoicing in our coming king or heavenly home. They bring a feel, an emotion, that just can't be recreated through praise and worship.

A lot of praise and worship music tries too hard. To be lyrical, to be better than the latest and greatest. To get people to like it. And we have lost the feeling of the song. The emotion that comes from the author. The anointing of God has been replaced by trend and something different. 

So I am going to take some posts here in the future to look at some old hymns and discuss my thoughts. 

Tonight's installment: What a Friend We Have in Jesus.

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

I woke up singing this song this morning (among others). Jesus, our friend, desires to carry all of our burdens and provide us with peace. But we have to choose to give him it all. We have an advocate, who goes before the Father on our behalf with our needs. It's his privilege to do so and our privilege to bring it all to him and leave it there.

But sometimes, we want to bear our own pain. We don't want to unnecessarily burden others down. When we choose to hold it all, we are denying ourselves of peace and denying Jesus the opportunity to meet our needs according to his riches.

Sometimes we don't want help. We want to do it ourselves. We want to prove that we are strong enough, tough enough, good enough to handle it all on our own.

But we aren't. And until we can admit that, and bring it all to Jesus, our true friend, we will struggle  and we will feel the weight of it all. Not because Jesus won't take care of it all. Because we are choosing to do it ourselves. Like a stubborn 2 year old. Who in all reality, can't do everything themselves and yet, persists that he can.

We are so stubborn sometimes. Unwilling to give it all to Jesus. So he patiently waits for us. Wanting what is best for us and waiting for us to let him be God in our lives.

Jesus is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. He is always with us. We are never alone, no matter how we feel. Never Alone. And he knows what is best. And he wants to carry our burdens. And in his love, he lets us be stubborn and choose to do things the hard way.

All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.