Be Thou My Vision (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 793)
1 Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art:
thou my best thought both by day and by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
2 Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my soul’s shelter, and thou my high tow’r,
raise thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.
3 Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise,
thou mine inheritance, now and always:
thou and thou only, the first in my heart,
great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.
4 Light of my soul, after victory won,
may I reach heaven’s joys, O heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Text: Irish; Music: Irish traditional; Public Domain
Devotion
What is the vision you have for your life? What are your plans for the next day, week, month, year, and beyond? What do you want to accomplish and achieve?
Every time we pray the prayer that Jesus taught us, we ask for God’s will and kingdom to come here and now. Another way to think about the will of God is to think about the plans God has for you and what God wants for you. While we all have plans for ourselves, so does God. God’s plans for us are often not the same as ours.
I love this hymn because it reminds me to hold to my plans loosely and be ready to embrace and follow the plans God has for me. I never planned on being a pastor, but now I can’t imagine my life had I not followed this calling. God has plans for you that are good, for you and for all people!
Prayer
God of all the universe, thank you for caring about me and having plans for me. Help me to let them become my vision, my goal in life. Break into my plans with yours. Amen.