Every Hour

There have been several events this past week that have reminded me again of our complete reliance upon God. One of the earliest hymns I remember singing as a child is “I Need Thee Every Hour.” The chorus begins: “I need Thee, oh, I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee.”

More recently Matt Maher’s lyrics have resonated with me:

“Without You I fall apart.

You're the One that guides my heart,

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You.

Every hour I need You.

My one defense, my righteousness,

Oh God, how I need You.”

I have to confess that there are too many times in my life and especially in ministry that I try to muscle through things on my own strength, or to find a way through things on my own brains or intuition. Ultimately, I can only serve others effectively when I am doing it with the strength God provides (1 Peter 4:11). I can only love others well when it’s because of God’s love for me (1 John 4:11). I can only understand the direction of my life when I depend on God’s wisdom, not my own (Proverbs 3:5-6). I need the Lord every hour of every day. The good news is that he is very close to those who seek him.

Remember that next week we will be joining with the Presbyterian Church in Danvers for worship at 10 am, so we will not be having either Sunday School or our Worship Service at North Danvers. October 6th we will be meeting at the normal times—Sunday School at 9 am and our Worship Service at 10:10 am at North Danvers.

Also a reminder that I will be leaving Saturday for some time at the beach with Josanne and her family. Before her Mom passed away, she had put a deposit on a house rental for this week in Myrtle Beach, so we will be gathering there. It will be a bitter-sweet time for Josanne and her family.

God bless, Brian