DOES JESUS CARE?

 A monthly feature on a hymn of the faith.

Do ministers ever get discouraged and depressed? Of course, they do. Even ones whose natural disposition tends to be on the sunny side. That was the reputation of Pastor Frank E. Graeff, who led a Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. In fact, he was dubbed the “Sunshine Minister” for his cheerful disposition. But the cheer wasn't always there.

Something happened that cast him into discouragement and depression. According to one historical account, he and his wife had a beautiful daughter. In those days—the late 1800s—the girls and women wore floor-length dresses with layers of lace or other frills. Homes at that time were usually heated by wood-burning stoves or fireplaces. His daughter got too close to one such fire and her clothing caught on fire. It happened so fast that nothing could be done, and she burned to death. The grief was more than Pastor Graeff could bear.

One day he meditated on 1 Peter 5:7--”Casting all your cares upon Him, for he cares for you.” He also found comfort in the hymn written 75 years earlier by another who'd known great sorrow, Joseph Scriven. That man, who immigrated to Canada from Ireland, had who lost two fiancees to death. Afterwards, Scriven spent his life in poverty serving his community's poor. Only one hymn survived of Scriven's spiritual journey, a poem he wrote to comfort his own mother across the Atlantic since he couldn't afford to visit her. We know it today as “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”--and it continues: “all our sins and griefs to bear, what a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer.”

Besides songs like Scriven's, Pastor Graeff also found comfort in Bible passages like these:

First Peter 5:7: ”Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

Isaiah 55:4: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.”

2 Corinthians 1:3-5: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”

His gloom eventually lifted as he took to heart the truth that God truly did care for him, even in his greatest heartache. From that experience he wrote the hymn, “Does Jesus care?” The first verse hints at the depth of his despondency:

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained

Too deeply for mirth and song;

As the burdens press and the cares distress

And the way grows weary and long.

After each of four questioning verses comes the chorus:

O yes, He cares, I know He cares,

His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary,

The long nights dreary,

I know my Savior cares.

Pastor Graeff loved hymns and wrote thirty-six that were published, but this is the one still best known. It's comforted untold thousands since first publication in 1901. He would live another 18 years after its publication, dying in his 59^th year.

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In a similar vein, someone has suggested these steps to “casting” our cares and sorrows about the Lord. Using the acrostic CAST, it goes:

C—Commit the burden to Jesus. He cares more than you can realize.

A—Ask in prayer for the Lord's help.

S—Search scriptures for passages of encouragement

T—Trust Him for comfort and healing. He does care for you.

Sing along with Mark Lowry (of the Gaither Vocal Band) in this meaningful blend of two hymns, including Graeff's:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=%22Does+Jesus+Care%22%2bMark+Lowry&view=detail&mid=EAE8C0ADF2021F1EE806EAE8C0ADF2021F1EE806&FORM=VIRE0&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3d%2522Does%2bJesus%2bCare%2522%252bMark%2bLowry%26FORM%3dSSRE

MORNING'S HOPE (Psalm 143)

Landscape near my "high-desert" hometown. David probably looked

out on similar desolation (without the telephone poles!)

(Part of an ongoing series of psalms to study when you're feeling "down," as suggested by pastor/counselor David Seamands in his book, "Healing for Damaged Emotions.")

“Joy comes in the morning…” The hope expressed in that song took on a personal meaning when my friend Dan Miller was privileged to sing it for a Bill Gaither music video. Dan’s not your run-of-the-mill Gospel singer. The summer after he graduated from high school, he was one of the last victims of the polio epidemic of the 1950s. The vaccines hadn’t yet made it to small towns clutching the Columbia River in north central Washington. His athletic body was decimated by the virus. His right arm was left virtually useless, his left, less impaired, and his once strong legs a whisper of their former selves. But Dan went on to fulfill his dream of becoming a physical education teacher (with lots of adjustments), later a school principal, then an inspirational speaker. He loved to play a guitar in his unique “adjusted” way and sing about hope after the darkest night: “Joy comes in the morning.”

MORNING BLESSING

I think of Dan when I read Psalm 143, especially verse 8, which I memorized through the NavPress “Topical Memory System” early in my Christian walk:
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust; cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.(KJV)

In the version I now use (New International Version) it continues to remind me that the night is not forever:

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.  Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

When we look to the Lord for help, the nights of emotional and personal darkness are not forever. Like the first rays of the sunrise, God has a way of giving us hints that hope is on its way. That, I think, is the enduring message of Psalm 143.

Like the previous psalm, also by David, it has a heavy and sorrowful tone. David is on the verge of giving up as the enemy continues to hunt and taunt him. “My spirit grows faint within me,” he says, “my heart within me is dismayed” (vv. 3-4). What keeps him from giving up altogether is remembering God’s help in the past:

I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. (v. 5)

In a posture of worship and yielding, he holds out his hands. I understand that, as I have done that in my prayer life when I saw no answer and had to trust God with all my being.

Not surprisingly, this was a lesson David had learned before. In Psalm 30, he had exclaimed:

Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)

COMFORT V. CONFORMED 

It’s not just a matter of waiting a day or so for God to make things happen. God has His own, best timing for working out the problems we face. Sometimes the problem stares back at us in the mirror! He usually has things that need correcting inside us. That’s the other emphasis of Psalm 143, which is named as one of the seven “penitential” (confessional) psalms. (The others are 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143.)  But what may take weeks or months or years is all part of His perfect plan. His ultimate goal isn’t our comfort but being conformed to the image of Christ.  

In the midst of wishing he could be free of his enemies’ taunts and threats, David recognizes that his suffering has a higher purpose of building character:

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. (v. 10)

Joy will come in the morning—not necessarily the 24-hour cycle when the sun rises again, but when the Morning Star (Rev. 22:16), Jesus Christ, shines forth into our hearts. Left to our own devices, we’re like a wilderness of sagebrush. His character is built into us through the polishing and maturing knives of adversity. Though Psalm 143 begins with lugubrious notes of despair, it ends with sweetness: “I am your servant” (v. 12).

GETTING PAST WINTER

Is winter ending? Is spring here? We kept asking ourselves those questions in February as the weather kept teasing us with mild days and snowstorms. Late in February, a friend brought a handful of pussy willows from her yard. It wasn’t lost on me that this harbinger of spring came by the hand of someone who has endured a recent siege of “winters” in her family that included her mother’s death, father’s decline, widowed daughter’s cancer,  husband’s heart issues, and other challenges.

I thought of this passage in the Song of Solomon, which on the first level addresses the awakening of pure love between a man and a maiden:

See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.  Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. (Song of Solomon 2:11-12 NIV)

On other levels it speaks of our relationship with our Creator and Redeemer. God’s love can awaken non-believers from the winter of indifference and lead them to the fresh life of faith and joy. It doesn’t stop there, for the cycles of joy and sorrow are part of the human condition of both Christians and non-Christians. But we don’t need to stay in spiritual winters. There’s always the re-awakening of a spiritual spring through the power and hope of the risen Lord Jesus.

SHEDDING SOME LIGHT

One of the devotionals on my bookshelf is First Light by the late William Stoddard (Multnomah, 1990). He was a longtime Presbyterian pastor and, in retirement, the Protestant chaplain for two cruise lines. I appreciate this book because it’s not a quickie one-minute in-and-out devotional.  Each day’s reading includes several passages, and a four sections: What is God saying?  How does this apply to us? Pray with me. Moving on in the life of prayer.In his Day 81 devotional (which, if started on Jan. 1, would end up toward the end of March) the main scripture is Song of Solomon 2, and concludes: 

Let us be confident that Christ will bring the freshness and fragrance of spring into our lives. It may be winter all around us.  The earth may be frozen and hard.  Yet prayer can bring springtime to our souls, because it is centered on the living Christ and based on the power of His resurrection. (p. 163)

I don’t know about you, but I needed that reminder. Hurting people are all around me. But that's not the end of the story:

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13)

Does that say “Easter” to you?  It does to me!

Humblin' history made here

It happened here—a hall corner between my daughter’s and son’s bedrooms--where I tried to “train up” my children in the way they should go regarding relationships. Proverbs 22:15 says, “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.” I didn’t get out a “discipline rod” to resolve petty arguments, but I did use “time out” in their bedrooms before coming to this spot in the hall to apologize and ask forgiveness.  At times their hugs and “sorry’s” were quite wooden, but I trusted that this discipline would reinforce truths about living God’s way. They grew up to be responsible adults with many friends.

As I thought recently about “apologies,” three powerful Bible examples came to mind.
Insincere apologies—“Sorry you had a problem about it....” As King Saul geared up for a major battle at Gilgal, he had a problem. The prophet Samuel told him to wait a week for Samuel to come and offer the proper pre-battle sacrifices. When Day 7 arrived with no Samuel in sight,  Saul panicked and performed the sacred “sacrifice” of animals himself. An appalled Samuel showed up just as Saul finished. Saul’s excuse was full of “I” words, ending, “I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering” (1 Samuel 13:12). Samuel scolded him: “You acted foolishly.”  From then on, Saul’s days as king were numbered. 

Cover-up apologies—“Sorry I messed up, but don’t make me look bad.” A few chapters later, the prophet Samuel told Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites: people, cattle, sheep, camels and donkeys. But Saul and soldiers disobeyed, keeping some of the animal “booty.” Plus, Saul put up a prideful monument in his own honor! When Samuel came and heard all the noises of the Amalekite livestock, he condemned Saul for not following the orders for annihilation. Samuel declared:

To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. (1 Samuel 15:22b-23a)
Saul’s reaction: “I have sinned.  But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel” (v. 30).  (Read that again! The nerve of it floors me!) 

Sincere apologies—“I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). King David succumbed to lust, committing adultery with a married woman. Learning he got her pregnant, he arranged to have her husband killed in the heat of battle. He tried to hide his secret until the prophet Nathan pulled a confession out of him. The best mirror for David’s confession of this incident is his Psalm 51:

“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Psalm 51:4)

I see these applications for today:

Insincere apologies—The pouty “s-o-r-r-y” which tries to appease an offended person.

Cover-up apologies—The insincere “s-o-r-r-y” that says, “Sorry, you don’t agree with me, but I had to do it.  It’s all about me, after all.”

Sincere apologies—The humble “I am so sorry” that expresses: “God has convicted me of my sin in (description of offense). I was wrong and know I have sinned against you. Could you find it in your heart to forgive me and give me a second chance?  I want to obey God in every way, and this struggle is part of my journey to a life of pleasing God.” 

True, life-changing “I’m sorry” goes along with growing in Christ.  It’s the real thing because the Real Thing is just ahead. Someday, instead of standing in the hall between siblings’ bedrooms, we’ll kneel before the throne of Almighty God. He has seen every single action of our lives, and judges rightly and righteously—even considering how we have said, “I’m sorry.”