Love Lifted Me

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

1 John 4: 8

I was at the sink doing the pots and pans after lunch when I heard my husband’s voice singing upstairs.  He was practicing for a short program he was going to be in at church later that afternoon with our Men’s Chorus for the retirement party of our Church Secretary (that deserves an entire blog onto itself, so I’ll write about that later : )  The medley of lovely hymns was a welcome relief from the greasy suds, the dreary day and the gloomy state of my soul. 

I did not grow up with hymns.  At my home church down in Panama we sang songs with a more “tropical” flavor.  And being so self-conscious of my lack of singing abilities, I didn’t even sing at all back then.  That’s why traditional hymns and I are fairly recent acquaintances, which causes me to struggle with the appreciation of anything more obscured than “Amazing Grace” and the like.  God, however, has a way of reaching me through music, and hymns are not excluded from His divine play-list.

Therefore, as my husband cheerfully proceeded with the medley of verses from “There’s Power in the Blood,” “Wonderful Grace of Jesus,” and others alike, I began to breathe in the melodies and even attempted to sing some tunes softly to myself.  Then I heard him begin the lyrics of “Love Lifted Me.”  With my hands deep in a sauce pan, I half-heard the words of the song, but then he hit the refrain and I quietly joined in again.    

More because of the beauty of the music and not really paying attention to the words, I sang the first round of the refrain:

Love lifted me! Love lifted me!

When nothing else could help

Love lifted me!

By the time he started to repeat the refrain, the power of the words finally grabbed me,

Love lifted me! Love lifted me!

When nothing else could help

Love lifted me!

Quickly Dan moved into the next song in the medley, but I was struck.  The high notes were still resonating in my mind and my thirsty soul drank the words, “Love lifted me!”

Dan continued practicing, enduring relentless mockery by our 10-year-old until he was done with the entire selection.  I was drying my pots and pans now, with the song firmly engraved in my mind still.  I wondered then about the verses I had missed since I wasn’t really listening while he was singing… “Danny, would you sing Love Lifted Me again,” I asked him.  Dan got the white binder and lovingly serenaded me with the entire hymn as I finished putting away the pans.  This time though, as the words joyfully danced around in my kitchen in perfect tune, I listened:

I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore,

Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more,

But the Master of the sea, heard my despairing cry,

From the waters lifted me, now safe am I.

Love lifted me! Love lifted me!

When nothing else could help

Love lifted me!

All my heart to Him I give, ever to Him I’ll cling

In His blessed presence live, ever His praises sing,

Love so mighty and so true, merits my soul’s best songs,

Faithful, loving service too, to Him belongs.

Souls in danger look above, Jesus completely saves,

He will lift you by His love, out of the angry waves.

He’s the Master of the sea, billows His will obey,

He your Savior wants to be, be saved today.

Thank You Lord for You surely knew I needed lifted out of the waters, and it is Your love what has lifted me.  It is YOU who have lifted me, for You are Love. 

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. 1 John4: 16a

Later that afternoon, we went to church and I heard the Men’s Chorus sing the now familiar medley.  The kids and I sat in the pews and watched Daddy be part of a wonderful program.  I smiled as my soul rejoiced because, for one more day, I had been faithfully lifted by Love again.

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