Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

“What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

“Oh how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

“What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?  
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

“Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.”

In 1887, this simple, yet powerful hymn, was published by Elisha A. Hoffman and Anthony J. Showalter.
Songs so old, can still be sung today, because their words are still relevant.  Just like God’s Word.  We can still read it because it applies to us, in this time.

A few weeks back, I was looking up hymns that I could play for the prelude part of my church’s morning service. I stumbled upon this hymn that my church hadn’t sung for awhile and figured that this could be one to play.  I have to admit that I have developed a bad habit of picking out hymns Saturday night, or even Sunday morning. This never gives me a chance to practice, for one thing; and for another, doesn’t give me any time to read the words of the song.  In most of the songs I play, whether it be arranged hymns for Offertory or playing them straight from the hymnbook, I want to add feeling to the notes. And I want the congregation to not only “hear” the melody, but also that the words come to mind.  

As I was taking time out this past week to contemplate on the words of this hymn, one question kept running through my mind: “Am I leaning on Christ’s everlasting arms?”.  And it, quite frankly, stunned me.  To be honest, I’ve always felt that I’ve handled all of my problems, all of my concerns, all of my burdens correctly, by giving them to Christ.  But this question kept coming back.  Not in a bad way, but it did make me think of how I’ve truly handled the “rough spots” that I’ve experienced in my life.  Did I leave my cares at the alter? Or did I leave them and take them back?  Did I tell Jesus that I wouldn’t worry about my problems and five minutes later find myself thinking about those same things again?  These questions made me reflect on my past.   

The third verse really got to me the most: “What have I to dread, what have I to fear..?".  When we think about how big and how great our God is, compared to not only our day-to-day problems, but those unexpected tragedies that come around once in awhile, we see that God is much greater than all of the disastrous problems in the world combined.  If God determines who wins wars, if God cares for even the smallest sparrow, and if God could send His only Son to die on the cross for our sins, He certainly cares about our problems. Then comes that “blessed peace” when we take our worries to Christ and rest in His arms.

“I have blessedness with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.”

God bless,
Anna