Precious Lord, Take My Hand

“Precious Lord, Take My Hand” is one of my favorite hymns. It has special meaning to me because this is the last song my daughter Megan sang as a solo in public during her battle with cancer when she was seventeen. The words can be melancholy, but I find great strength and assurance in the words, “Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.”

In the midst of this pandemic, we hear lots of conversation about mental health and how we can cope with the anxiety of separation and fear of the unknown. Thomas Dorsey who wrote this hymn had not only experienced the American blues music scene, but was directing, composing and singing in church choirs in Chicago in 1932 when his wife and newborn son both died as she was giving birth. Overcome with grief, he composed this hymn which reflects not only his blues background, but his Christian faith.

Whenever we need a helping hand to keep us going, God is ALWAYS ready to take our hand and lead us in whatever direction we need to go. God will help us find the strength to live our lives with purpose wherever we find ourselves, even in the midst of a world-wide pandemic.
My prayer for all of us today is wherever we may be, and in whatever situation we find ourselves, that we can feel the assurance that God’s hand is there waiting for us to grasp it so that we may feel the strength that only God can give. Precious Lord, take my hand. Amen
 
Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand,
I am tired, I a weak, I am worn;
through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light:
take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.*
 
*“Precious Lord, Take My Hand”, Thomas A. Dorsey © 1938 Hill & Range Songs, Inc., renewed Unichappell Music, Inc.