There Is a Balm in Gilead (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 614)
Refrain:
There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole;
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul.
1 Sometimes I feel discouraged
and think my work’s in vain,
but then the Holy Spirit
revives my soul again. [Refrain]
2 If you cannot preach like Peter,
if you cannot pray like Paul,
you can tell the love of Jesus
and say, “He died for all.” [Refrain]
3 Don’t ever be discouraged,
for Jesus is your friend;
and if you lack for knowledge,
he’ll not refuse to lend. [Refrain]
Text and Music: African American spiritual; Public Domain
Devotion
“Sometimes I feel discouraged and think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again.”
These words of the first verse of “There is a Balm in Gilead” have a way of reminding us with a bit of realism: serving others can be exhausting. To help some people is a huge task; some people don’t even thank us; our work can be overwhelming if no one is willing to help us. Yes, serving can be exhausting.
Those are the times that we need to stop. We need to rest in God’s arms. And as we are resting, God’s love will flow over us; God’s promises will fill us; Jesus will feed us, and the Holy Spirit will revive our soul.
Prayer
Loving God, for all that you have given us and for our neighbors we are able to serve, we give you thanks. Amen.