Lord Jesus, You Shall Be My Song (ELW 808)
1 Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey;
I’ll tell ev’rybody about you wherever I go:
you alone are our life and our peace and our love.
Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey.
2 Lord Jesus, I’ll praise you as long as I journey.
May all of my joy be a faithful reflection of you.
May the earth and the sea and the sky join my song.
Lord Jesus, I’ll praise you as long as I journey.
3 As long as I live, Jesus, make me your servant,
to carry your cross and to share all your burdens and tears.
For you saved me by giving your body and blood.
As long as I live, Jesus, make me your servant.
4 I fear in the dark and the doubt of my journey;
but courage will come with the sound of your steps by my side.
And with all of the family you saved by your love,
we’ll sing to your dawn at the end of our journey.
Text: Les Petites Soeurs de Jésus and L’Arche Community; tr. Stephen Somerville, b. 1931
Text © 1987 Les Petites Soeurs de Jésus, admin. Augsburg Fortress. Tr. © 1970 Stephen Somerville, admin. Augsburg Fortress.
Reprinted under OneLicense.net #A730924
Devotion
Life is a journey. It is full of ups and downs, twists and turns, exhilaration and disappointment. Sometimes we follow the word of the LORD and it feels amazing. Sometimes we get distracted by the people or things around us that pull us away from God.
The author of this hymn reflects the reality of life in each verse. Verse 1 begins with hope as we seek to sing the song of Jesus to the world. Verse 2 steps into full praise mode. Verse 3 seems to show the stumble in the journey. Our call is not to pride, but to servanthood and cross-bearing. Verse 4 takes us to the darkness of doubt and fear and fills us with courage that, even in that low place, God is with us.
We reflect the light of God, not through our perfection and perpetual brightness. No. We reflect the light of God when we remember that God’s love is faithful throughout all our journey.
Prayer
God of promise, we thank you for the ups and downs of our lives. Thank you for being with us through it all. May we never forget that you are with us and for us. Amen.