A sweet friend of mine introduced me to Lauren Daigle. Gracious – what a blessing! My girls and I love all of her songs.
One of my favorites is her cover an old hymn written by Helen Howarth Lemmel in 1922 titled “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.”
A few weeks ago, while listening to this song in the car, one kid told the rest of us that she thought this song sounded like a Christmas song. Another kid disagreed: she thought it sounded like an Easter song. Still another kid thought it sounded like a song to pray when one was sad and lonely. The youngest kid said it’s what happy people should sing. Talk about a myriad of responses!
Between listening and pausing, we talked about the verses of this song. We discovered that each of them were correct. Several verses speak of both Christmas and Easter themes. This song calls the weary and the troubled and offers them the only remedy that truly heals.
The youngest kid was spot on: this is a song happy people should sing because the source of their joy is Jesus.
I love to pray this song. I totally sing it like no one is listening, and thankfully, my voice is supported by my four little birds singing behind me. However, aside from the joy of singing it, it moves my soul to look interiorly upon my Savior and exchange a look of love. So much can happen in that little moment. Depending on what’s going on in my life, He meets me, and if only briefly, a bond is strengthened, a friendship is deepened, a need is expressed, an understanding is given, a love is returned, a weakness is strengthened, a purpose is reestablished, or direction is given. Sometimes, this is the kind of prayer that feeds my soul.
This song is an anytime song.
It celebrates He who is the answer to our anytime need because He’s an every time Savior. Whether in love, joy, sorrow, or doubt:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face.
The things of the Earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace.
What song do you love to pray?
