I think it is amazing that they hymns are not only inspired in their content, but in their sequence. Right after "Be Still, My Soul" with it's line of "the Lord is on thy side," comes "How Gentle God's Commands" and how we can "cast our burden at His feet and bear a song away." What a beautiful follow-up!
As I pondered on these two hymns this morning in the respite of sitting on the bench, waiting for my team's turn to play basketball, the phrase "how gentle God's commands" stuck with me...
"gentle"..."command"....
These two words seem so opposite! I have often looked at this line and focused on the part of "giving up my burden to Him," and I guess I always thought the gentleness was in the giving up of my tasks to His capable shoulders.
I never thought of there being a gentleness to His commands.
I tend to focus on the impossibility of a task before me, on the difficulty, on the challenge that seems to be required.
Could it be there is a gentle side that lies within the command itself?
For instance, as I prepare for a young acting group I felt prompted to take responsibility for, all I can think of is how far "behind" I am and how prone to failure and mistakes I seem to be. I look at the time my emotional and physical preparation seem to take me away from my family, the very people I am doing it for!
Could it be that there is a joyful and gentle side in this journey to get this acting group to the end? Time spent with wonderful youth, including my own....shared experience in meaningful production....time to laugh and create together with my kids...
Somehow, I suspect, if I can focus on that aspect, the gentle side of God's command, then the burden will be lifted, not by the removal of the task, but in how I handle it.
May the Lord help me to see it ever thus, the gentle side of all His commands...
As I pondered on these two hymns this morning in the respite of sitting on the bench, waiting for my team's turn to play basketball, the phrase "how gentle God's commands" stuck with me...
"gentle"..."command"....
These two words seem so opposite! I have often looked at this line and focused on the part of "giving up my burden to Him," and I guess I always thought the gentleness was in the giving up of my tasks to His capable shoulders.
I never thought of there being a gentleness to His commands.
I tend to focus on the impossibility of a task before me, on the difficulty, on the challenge that seems to be required.
Could it be there is a gentle side that lies within the command itself?
For instance, as I prepare for a young acting group I felt prompted to take responsibility for, all I can think of is how far "behind" I am and how prone to failure and mistakes I seem to be. I look at the time my emotional and physical preparation seem to take me away from my family, the very people I am doing it for!
Could it be that there is a joyful and gentle side in this journey to get this acting group to the end? Time spent with wonderful youth, including my own....shared experience in meaningful production....time to laugh and create together with my kids...
Somehow, I suspect, if I can focus on that aspect, the gentle side of God's command, then the burden will be lifted, not by the removal of the task, but in how I handle it.
May the Lord help me to see it ever thus, the gentle side of all His commands...
Lots to think about. Maybe part of the gentleness is actually that His commands are intended to bless us, and will always turn for our own good? Even the struggles, even the stretches, always get us where we need to be.
ReplyDeleteARGH! That's all I'm going to say about that. :)
Love you, Marni! Amen! :)
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