This song was written before our country even existed! The story goes that the song writter, began to scribble some of the lyrics on a playing card, because in the midst of a bad storm - he found refuge in a gap in the gorge. Spiritually the same thing is true, in the midst of a bad storm, when everything around you is in chaos - you can find refuge in the ROCK OF AGES! I like to use the dictionary every now and then and look up the meaning of some words . . . so let's look at the word ROCK - a firm foundation or support . . . let's also look at the word AGES - a series of generations. Wow! When you put that together the ROCK OF AGES is a firm foundation that lasts through generations! I can honestly say I have found that to be true, the ROCK OF AGES that my great grandparents found rest in, is the same ROCK OF AGES that my grandparents cling to, which is the same ROCK OF AGES that my Momma and Daddy lean on, and it's that VERY same ROCK OF AGES that I find myself holding onto! Jesus is the ROCK OF AGES! I choose to recognize and realize I am a sinner, I know I am saved by the grace of God, and no matter what season of life I find myself in - regardless how bad the storm gets, I will hold on to the ROCK OF AGES!
Continuing in the HYMNS of FAITH . . . as I shared Sunday, I am one who enjoys all styles, eras, and tempos of music, as long as it brings praise unto the Lord Jesus Christ! However, if the Lord tarries, I want my children and my children's children to know the Hymns from the 1800s and know the history and the stories behind the songs that were written so long ago. This is our history, our legacy in the Christian Faith that we should pass on from generation to generation. With that being said, my hymn for the week is "How Great Thou Art". When I look at the birds of the sky, when I feel the wind blow, when I hear the birds chirp, my soul can't help but sing HOW GREAT THOU ART! We need to take time out to reflect on How Great God really is. His beauty is everywhere, his fingerprints are on everything! Do you see it? Can you feel him? Do you realize how GREAT He is!?!?!
Psalm 92:5
O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.
If the Lord never done anything else for you, He's done enough. Sing out from your inner most being, sing unto the Lord, sing to the Creator of the Universe, sing to the God who breathed life into you, sing out to your Savior and Redeemer, sing HOW GREAT THOU ART!
You know in life, we go through alot of rough things, alot of hurts, alot of pains, alot of times we find ourselves in situations where we may think . . . "no one cares" . . . but it's then when I realize the most "WHAT A FRIEND I HAVE IN JESUS"! When I was about 6 years old, I had the greatest Sunday School Teacher in the world, and the very first memory verse she taught me was Hebrews 13:5b when the Lord says "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee". It is in those words, that promise, I find true comfort. My friends may forsake, my family may turn their back on me, my enemies may plot and plan against me, but "WHAT A FRIEND I HAVE IN JESUS"!
He's never left me, He's a friend who is Faithul and True!
Proverbs 8:24
A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
As the songer writter wrote:
"What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!"
I am soooooo grateful that I have a Friend that can handle every problem, every situation, every sin, ever sadness, "WHAT A FRIEND I HAVE IN JESUS"!
