As Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday draw nearer, we are drawn to the work of Christ on the cross, What He did for us is beyond amazing. He truly did “pay it all.”
Yesterday morning Martha was playing “Jesus Paid it All.” it was a beautiful rendition of a Christian classic. While hymns come and go, I can’t imagine a time when Christians will not be drawn to this great hymn which describes Christ’s work on our behalf.
Yesterday, a few brief phrases struck me. These words are so meaningful: “child of weakness, watch and pray, find in me my thine all in all.”
Think with me about the meaning of these three phrases.
First, I truly am a “Child of weakness.” I couldn’t help but think about my desperate need for God. I had expressed it to Him early in the morning. We truly are children of weakness. We so need God and His direction for our lives.
Yesterday, I thought of my need for prayer and really just a need for God and to be in His presence. As a child of weakness, what should I do?
Second, I should “watch and pray.”
Jesus told the disciples in the garden to watch and pray. He often used this simple admonition. When I watch and pray, I am still a child of weakness but as I watch and pray, I experience the strength of God.
I am a part of two groups who are tasked with the responsibility of selecting leaders for Baptist institutions. Throughout the process, we have prayed and one of our prayers has been that God would guide us as described in the prophecy of Isaiah: “And your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).
I so need to watch and pray. I need God’s direction and guidance.
Third, this great hymn exhorts us to let God be “our all in all.”
When I am weak and seeking God, I am strong. Not because of me but because of Him. Because He is what I need in all things. Paul assured us that, “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
“Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Child of weakness, watch and pray, find in Me thine all in all.”