Lean On My Ample Arm

 

This hymn has spoken to me this week. 

Lean on My Ample Arm

Lean on my ample arm,

O thou depressed!

And I will bid the storm

Cease in thy breast.

Whate’er thy lot may be

On life’s complaining sea,

If thou wilt come to me,

Thou shalt have rest.

Lift up thy tearful eyes,

Sad heart, to me;

I am the sacrifice

Offered for thee.

In me thy pain shall cease,

In me is thy release,

In me thou shalt have peace

Eternally.

–Theodore E. Curtis

Why would such a hymn be included in our hymnals?  Because it addresses shared human difficulties. 

It acknowledges that we may well face depression and directs us to lean on His ample arm.  

He is strong enough for anything we may be bringing.  Strong enough for anger.  Strong enough for fear for our children.  Strong enough for our broken hearts.  Strong enough for self-loathing.  Strong enough for questioning minds.  Strong enough for loneliness.  Strong enough for sin.  Strong enough for whatever you are carrying right now. 

He will calm the storm.  Quite possibly not on the outside, but the storms raging in your heart and in your mind.  That storm that threatens your sleep, steals your joy, and makes each day a struggle just to survive.  The storm of negativity screaming relentlessly in your head.  The storm of darkness making you numb.  

He has promised you rest.  This may be the season where you simply need to seek that rest and do no more.   To let him hold your battles while you regain your strength and are ready to pick up your journey again.  

He sees and acknowledges your tears, even when it seems that no one else does.  Those tears prove you are still alive, still trying.  

He sees your sad heart and is holding you even if the pain is so raw and the tears are clouding your vision in such a way that you can't see Him there.  

It may seem that an eternity of todays feels unbearable.  But eternity is not a mortal concept.  The goodness will come again. 

It is for the very suffering you now go through that He sacrificed.   Because you are loved more deeply than you can comprehend.  

Phillipians 4:7 promises "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

His promises are sure.  The pain is not forever.  Peace will come.  One small answer at a time.  One small blessing at a time.  And it is that peace that will in fact be eternal.  

So lean on His ample arm.  It is closer than you think and waiting for you.