What a Friend we Have in Jesus.

I am excited to share this blog post with y'all because this week, I am mixing it up and posting about one of my favorite hymns: What a Friend we Have in Jesus.

Joseph M. Scriven wrote this hymn in 1855. He was an Irish man born in 1819 in Seapatrick, Ireland. Mr. Scriven’s life was filled with trials and tragedy. First, when he was 23, his childhood sweetheart accidentally drowned the night before his wedding. Shortly after her death, he immigrated to Woodstock, Canada and opened a private school. A few years later, in 1855, he was again engaged to marry a woman named Eliza Catherine Roche. However, tragedy struck a second time. She caught pneumonia and died shortly before the wedding day. After this misfortune, Joseph Scriven spent most of his time trying to distract his mind by serving the poor and elderly in his community. While he occupied himself in this manner, he received a letter from his mother informing him she was very ill. Since he could not afford to visit her, he wrote her a letter that contained this poem:

What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer!,

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged, Take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful Who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness, Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden, Cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge— Take it to the Lord in prayer; Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer; In His arms He’ll take and shield thee, Thou wilt find a solace there.

Mr. Scriven died on August 10th 1886. No one knows what happened. He disappeared from his room one night only to be found several hours later drowned in a pond near the house. He was 66 and seriously depressed.

This poem was not originally intended to be published, but in 1869, after Mr. Scriven's death, a friend published it in the local newspaper, the Port Hope Guide.

What a tragic story behind a tremendous hymn! What a Friend we Have in Jesus has encouraged my heart numerous times and continues to encourage it. Friends are important. Choosing Godly influences to be apart of my life to share wisdom and guidance with me is vital. God created me to be surrounded with a community of believers that I can interact with regularly. I need someone to uplift and strengthen me. But ultimately, people will disappoint. My friends will not ever meet all of my needs. They can and should meet some, but in the end, they will fall short and were not meant to satisfy. Yet, there will always be one Friend who can be fully trusted and depended on. One faithful Friend who will never disappoint, who wants to carry my burdens for me and listens when I cry out to Him. When I am tempted or discouraged, there is one Friend who runs to help me. Truly, what peace there is in knowing that I can take my burdens and troubles to the Lord. Why, then, do I so often forfeit peace by not carrying everything to God in prayer? I have found a faithful Friend who knows all my weaknesses yet will never leave me or forsake me. And because He knows all my weaknesses, He offers to be a refuge and shield for me so that I may find a solace in time of trouble. The good Lord promises comfort, support, and relief from my cumbersome load of care if I take it to Him in prayer. My questions, concerns, requests, He desires to carry them for me if I carry them to Him. Truly, what a friend we have in Jesus!