Lover of my Soul

In the early 1700 siblings John and Charles Wesley were born. Both were talented and used their talents in the service of the Lord. John was a preacher while Charles was a hymn and poem writer.

Charles wrote a lot of hymns. One of those was “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” which is one of the most popular Christmas carol, at least for me. Another hymn he wrote which captured my attention was the song Jesus, Lover of my soul.

The song Jesus, lover of my soul was written by Charles Wesley in the year 1740 in a hedge. He was at that time being pursued by a group of people who disapproved his doctrine when he was preaching in the fields of a parish in Ireland. Good thing that as he escaped to the farmhouse, the farmer's wife hid him in a millhouse. The farmer's wife quieted the captors and directed Wesley to a hedge where he stayed there until the departure of his captors. While in the hedge, Wesley composed this song as a prayer of trust in God as his refuge especially in his time of need.

The song is telling us that whenever we are in trouble, Jesus who is the lover of our soul is always there for us; that no matter how scared we are, we can always trust in God because He is our God who is ever-present. He will never leave us nor forsake us. And unlike in any other refuge, in God, we are assured that we are safe and secure. He will hide and protect us until the storm of life is past. He will reach out to us and carry us through so that we'll be able to stand on heights. Therefore we need not to be afraid. We just need to cling to His promises for He alone is our hope. Though in life we experience a lot of failures and discouragements yet He is the God who is there to encourage us. Whenever we fall, He will be there to raise us up and help us to move forward. This is all because He is the God who loves us so much and He cares for us.