We say, “God loves you,” until it has become trite. Oh my, never let it become meaningless. The essential essence of tranquility of soul is the settled understanding that you are loved by your Father. Never lose sight of it! Keep it central in how you think of yourself. It will get you through anything. It will take you where you should go. It will sometimes be an anchor and sometimes wind in your sails. It will nourish you as food and drink. It will conquer negative thoughts and drive positive ones.
Alas! and did my Savior bleed / And did my Sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head / For sinners such as I?
But drops of grief can ne’er repay / The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give myself away, / ’Tis all that I can do.
Refrain: He loves me; He loves me; He loves me, this I know.
He gave himself to die for me Because He loves me so!
—Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
(You are reading from the book “The Master’s Table”, by H. Lamar Smith.)
