A Hymn about God's mighty hand. And God's word starts a sentence with 'But' and 'And!'

“Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but Thou art mighty, Hold me with Thy pow’r-ful hand…” (Hymn, Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah, 1745, William Williams/John Hughs).
“The hymns dear Lord, instruct and teach us. Even when some don’t ‘believe’, the words give light to what is true around us, and whoo us and draw us out of the dark. Who are we kidding Lord, as we trod this ‘barren land’ and with each day around us, we see the weeds, and thorns and sand.We wake up hungry, we seek bread. ‘By the sweat of our brow’, we have to work to be fed, and in great pain a baby is born’. Who are we kidding Lord, when we think we can ‘do it on our own!’ It’s like a fish in a  tank pretending that their sufficient of themselves, when they so desperately wait to see that ‘powerful’ feeding ‘hand’!
“Could it be Lord, that You teach us through the children?  We watch first steps taken, when a toddler takes the hold of the ‘hand’ to walk? When the arm is lifted, waiting to be held, waiting to be strengthened, so the ‘feeble knees’ may walk. “Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but Thou art mighty, Hold me with Thy pow’r-ful hand. Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more; Feed me till I want no more.” (Hymn by William Williams).
“Who are we kidding, we can see it all along, our stubborn and ‘sin-ful’ nature that says,  “I can do this without Him!” My hand reaches for knowledge, my hand will reach for Docs, my hand will reach for… nothing,  when discouraged and afraid from our very own thoughts. So we grope and fight to find our way, competing and selfishly moving forward. But then we soon grow tired, so weary,  and empty. But we notice You are with us. And You’ve been there all along.”
Yes, I know we are not to start a sentence with ‘And’, but when talking about God, I can! I can, because I’ve lived it! “But God, pulled me out of the pit I was in, AND, He was with me all along!”
The stories, the stories, all so different, but the same. It is told of one’s  journey, a ‘witness’ was sent to ‘help’, and the words that were spoken have been heard before…but this time,… FINALLY headed. “Find a Bible and read it! Start in the Book of John. You will discover Jesus loves you! You’ll have a story that says, “But God, …! “And…!”
The truth is spelled out quite simply, and it’s obvious even today: “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” John 1:10,11. We convince ourselves, “He doesn’t care, when the problem is, the fall! “But…!”
Yes, the sentence begins with “But…”But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of god.” (John 1:12,13, NKJV).
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14).
“But God makes us His children. To all who receive, to all who believe. He doesn’t make us strong and able, He makes us His children to take hold of His hand! He is able, He heals, He feeds. And …He guides, the hymns, the hymns, along with His word, they tell us besides:
“Open now the crystal fountain, Whence the healing stream doth flow; Let the fire and cloudy pillar Lead me all my journey through. Strong Deliv’rer, strong Deliv’rer, Be Thou still my strength and shield; Be Thou still my strength and shield.”
“When I tread the verge of Jordan, Bid my anxious fears subside; Death of death and Hell’s destruction Land me safe on Canaan’s side. Songs of praises, songs of praises, I will ever give to Thee; I will ever give to Thee.”(Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah).
“Keep me Lord, ‘as a child’, ‘as a child’. Help me remember the whole day through, as I walk in weakness and feel weak and feeble help me remember, “But God is able.” “And He loves me too!” In Jesus’ name, Amen, Amen!
 

Author: Toni Rypkema

I'm a believer in Jesus. Because of this, I am married to a wonderful husband and the mom of a large family. For those who have battled cancer, or any other tragedy or disease, you might understand, I had a choice to get better or bitter. I chose to give thanks to Jesus for my every breath. For that reason alone, wanting to proclaim His goodness, do I write - Toni