part 2 of the “Around the Campfire” series
I was recently doing some reading on Martin Luther King Jr. As I was doing that reading, I came across his final words and then pieced together something amazing and very encouraging. On April 3, 1968, King gave one of his famous speeches called “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”. He ended that speech with these words:
“Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop.....But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” [1]
The next night, he made a request to Ben Branch. He requested that Branch play a song. The song was a beloved gospel song called “Take My Hand, Precious Lord.” Shortly after this request, King was assassinated. The song he requested, helped people find peace and strength in the lyrics of the song. [2]
What I find to be amazing about all of this, is that we can find comfort still to this day in the words of that old gospel song. (If you want to give the song a listen, there is a video link below. [3]) Here is the chorus of the song:
“Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I am tired, I'm weak, I am worn
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand, precious Lord
Lead me home” [4]
I don’t know about you, but I am tired and worn. 2020 has just been one of those years that has just worn me out. I am sure you feel the same way. I am sure that you can relate to that line in the song. I also understand why King requested the song, I know he was tired, weak, and worn out. But I saw something else in all of this. I saw this amazing picture surrounding the words “take my hand” and I believe it has two meanings.
1). WE SAY TO GOD “TAKE MY HAND”.
The way the song is written, the writer of the song is requesting that God take his hand and lead him on. But this fits with us as well. We ask God to take our hand lead us through the storms of life and get us through the other side of them. But the problem with this is that sometimes we don’t ask for God’s hand. We try and make it through the storm on our own. We see this in the Bible with Peter. Jesus calls Peter to come to Him on the water. Peter begins to sink in the water and cries out to Jesus for help. But Peter doesn’t offer a hand to aid in his rescue. He just cries out to Jesus. [5]. But here is where the phrase has a second meaning!
2). GOD SAYS TO US “TAKE MY HAND”.
We see right after Peter cries out to Jesus, Jesus reaches out His hand. The Bible doesn’t record dialogue here. But I bet Jesus said, “take My hand”. This was an amazing revelation to me. We don’t have to ask Jesus to take our hand. All we have to do is take the hand of Jesus! Jesus’ hand is already reached out to us. We just have to reach out and take it. The prophet Isaiah says this:
“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” - Isaiah 41:10 NLT
There is power in the hand of Jesus! The hand of Jesus is strong and mighty. The hand of Jesus is victorious. The hand of Jesus is outstretched and ready for us to respond to the statement “take My hand.”
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[1] Martin Luther King Jr. “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”
[3] “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” video
[4] “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” by Thomas A. Dorsey
[5] Matthew 14:22-33
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