HOPE 365 Toolbox - Weekly Devotion - January 13th

This week, I came across this devotion.  I thought it was a perfect reminder for all of us. 

-Patra Mueller, Family Life Minister

Take My Hand

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are suffering with the same comfort we have received.   2 Corinthians 1:3-4                                                                      

You never know when you’ll need the Lord’s comfort the most.  When God’s care will be your only hope to face tomorrow.  One day in 1932, pianist, singer and songwriter Thomas A. Dorsey discovered his need for God’s comfort.  He left his pregnant wife, Nettie at home in Chicago while he drove his Model A to St. Louis to sing at a revival meeting.  All went well and the crowd responded enthusiastically.  At the end of Dorsey’s performance, he received a telegram with the tragic news that his wife had died in childbirth.  Within hours, the baby boy also died.

Filled with grief, Dorsey sought answers.  Should he have stayed in Chicago?  Had God done him an injustice?  A few days after Nettie’s death, Dorsey sat down at the piano and began to play.  Finally sensing God’s peace and closeness, he began to sing some new words and play a new song:

Precious Lord, take my hand, 

Lead me on, let me stand:

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn:

Through the storm, through the night,

Lead me on to the light;

Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.

Is there a problem too big for you to hand?  Or a grief too great to bear?  Put your hand in the Lord’s. Let the God of all comfort lead you home. 

Devotion written by:  Dave Branon (2009) Great is Thy Faithfulness, Our Daily Bread Ministries, Discovery House, Grand Rapids, MI.