This is what you might call a devotional hymn, in that it is not exult in the majesty of God or weighty doctrine. Yet it carries a message that Christians need to hear in order to live in awe of the majesty of God and to apply doctrine to their lives.
Day by day, and with each passing moment
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment
I've no cause for worry or for fear...
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
"As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,"
This the pledge to me He made...
Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word...
I must admit: trust is the biggest battle I face in the Christian life. It all comes down to whether I believe the promises, or don't. The day-by-day steps of trust make a big difference to my overall spiritual trajectory. If I'm not believing that God is good, or, more specifically, that He is good to me, that doubt, especially if unperceived, can allow in a lot of other things like worry and strife, and those things ensnare me into sin.
I'm thankful for songs like this one that remind me of simple but profound truths. Not all truth is simple, and not all is profound; there are hymns that treat weighty matters like justification and sanctification which are both complex and profound. My point here is that if I don't have the simple things straight, I'll never be able to bear those weightier realities that provide a more substantive joy.
I was praying about what song to blog about this week and a friend mentioned this one. I've become familiar with it over the past year and now embrace it as part of my spiritual heritage and musical repertoire.
"Day By Day," Words by Caroline V. Sandell-Berg, Music by Oscar Ahnfelt. The lyrics printed here are half of each verse; for the full lyrics and melody, check it out on CyberHymnal.
2 comments:
This song is my mom's favorite hymn. I like it a lot, too. What do you think of Matthew West's lyrics? He might just be my new Rich Mullins, although Nicole Nordeman's stuff is also amazing. Tell Scott I said hello and I hope your Dad is well. Were you ever able to get ahold of Satya and Julie?
D'oh - I forgot to respond to your question about Matthew West. I knew his name and the name of his new album Something to Say, which, thanks to your tip, I listened to today. I didn't give a close listen, but I liked what I heard, and I like the song "Next Thing You Know" from a previous album. Putting him up there with Rich Mullins is quite a high compliment!
I'm thankful for Nicole Nordeman - I might have blogged about her stuff once before.
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