How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent Word! What more can He say than to you He has said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled? “Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed; for I am your God, and will still give you aid; I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand. “When through the deep waters I call you to go, the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow; for I will be with you, your troubles to bless, and sanctify to you your deepest distress. “When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie, my grace, all-sufficient, shall be your supply; the flame shall not hurt you; I only design your dross to consume and your gold to refine. E’en down to old age all my people shall prove my sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love; and when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn, like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne. “The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes; that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.” This hymn has been playing in my mind for weeks now. I want to share with you what the Lord has been teaching me about myself and about His character through these ageless words. In the very first stanza the writer speaks of Jesus being our refuge. Refuge. Jesus. Has the Lord really been my refuge? If I was honest I would say that I have been my own refuge, and a shoddy one at that. I like to tell myself pithy sayings that will make me feel better. “God is good!” “God has a purpose for my suffering!” “God works all things for the good of those who love Him!” These are truths of the Lord, but they are not the Lord Himself. Statements about God never have much of a lasting effect. So I escape into a book or a movie, or simply make myself busy and distracted. And why do I do this? I think part of it is because I don’t trust in the promises of God, or more accurately, I don’t even know what the promises of God are. How can we trust that the Lord is a better refuge when we have no idea what that refuge even looks like? But that is where this hymn fills in the gaps of my faith. This hymn, unlike most hymns, is written from the perspective of God (stanza’s 2-6). He is speaking to us! He tells us who He is and what He will do for us. The promises of God are laid out for us in this simple hymn. In the second stanza alone there are seven promises, which draw directly from Isaiah 41:10. I am with you. I am your God. I will still give you aid. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will cause you to stand. I will uphold you by my all-good, all-powerful hand. Taking these promises to heart, changes how I experience infertility. I am not alone, I am not forsaken by God. Living out these promises, truly clinging to them as truth, changes my entire struggle. Those of us who rely on the Lord will never be deserted or forsaken, ever. That is by far the most incredible promise of all. Though I may feel alone in my struggle, I can cling to the promise that He has vowed to always be near. Refuge then is not a passive action, but it is an active faith as you place your sufferings in the hands of the Savior. Because of who God is and what He has done, we are able to put our faith, confidence, and trust in Him. Because we have the promises of God, we can face our sorrow with hope. I so easily forget who He is. My struggle with infertility becomes my filter through which I see the world and my God. His promises reframe my filter, opening my eyes to a God who is not against me, and who has gone to great lengths to remind me that I am loved. So, help me add to my list. What are some promises of God that have encouraged you? Found this wonderful website that brings this hymn to life with illustrated images. See here!
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AuthorHi! I'm Brooke. Welcome to Sing O Barren One! I began this blog after years of unexplained infertility that resulted in five years of trying, four miscarriages, one daughter, and continued secondary infertility. While in seminary, I dove into scripture to help me make sense of my pain and struggle. What type of God would allow this? What I found there changed who I was, how I perceived my struggle, and most importantly my view of God. I wrote this blog as an outpouring of my grief and to joyfully share all that God has taught me. Archives
October 2020
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