Audio version for Sermon 206

Life. It’s full of sink or swim moments.

Swim? We’re elated.

Sink? We’re down in the dumps.

I began thinking about these things after somebody said something hurtful to me. God’s answer? “Frieda, you can take this. Just deal with it. I’m with you.”

Some say we’re 90% water; I say we’re 98% emotions. We’re happy, we’re sad. We are familiar with grief, joy, bitterness, hilarity, jealousy, pride and a zillion other emotional out-bursts. We can easily cover a range of feelings in just a few minutes or hours, and along the way, indulge ourselves in little dramatic eruptions. We love topping them off with self-pity as extra masala.

Everyone has a personalized Life Road. What is at the end of yours? Tears? Joy? Catastrophe? It can be a scary view down that road. If we could see the end, even one glance would take courage.

How you weather life, that is the issue; finding the key to get the best end results. The greatest challenge? To manage well the most delicate, most fragile of all emotions. Yep, you guessed it. It’s the biggest, scariest, most cherished and necessarily sacrificial emotion of love. Life’s quest is learning how to love. That is the whole purpose.

My brain, while thinking these deep, invasive thoughts, became muddled. I landed in the mud. I searched out an old hymn book, opened it up (plop) and it landed on hymn number 206. I didn’t know the hymn. It was written by Leighton G. Hayne in 1863. God spoke to me, saying, “Come on, encourage yourself.”

I started strumming my own tune and found myself turning Leightons words into my words… (sorry Leighton) and before I knew it, I’d dug myself out of the mud.

I hope that if you’re down in a mud pit, the song will pull on your heartstrings (like a pully), and pull you out of the mire.

Hymn Number 206 

Gracious spirit, Love divine; let thy light within me shine;
All my guilty fear remove, fill me with thy Heaven’s light.
Speak your pardon, it’s grace to me, set this chained up sinner free.
Weight of sin flee far from me; the Lamb of God has died for me.
Life and peace to me impart; seal salvation on my heart.
Dwell O God, within my breast; guarantee of immortal rest.
Let me never from the stray. lest I stumble and lose my way. 
Without you’d be no light of day, darkness flees from Jesus’ face. 
You speak grace to all you meet. Paid a debt, was owed by me.
Set this chained up sinner free, joy has captured my destiny.
Amazing love. Love’s my plea. Amazing love for me.
Amazing love for me.

*Hymn Number 206—composed by me and my buddy, Leighton G. Hayne -year 1863