“I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say,” ELW 611 and 332; and LBW 497
1 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto me and rest;
Lay down, O weary one, lay down
your head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
So weary, worn and sad;
I found in him a resting place,
And he has made me glad.
2 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water, thirsty one;
Stoop down hand drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in him.
3 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light;
Look unto me, your morn shall rise,
And all your day be bright.:
I looked to Jesus and I found
In him my star, my sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk
Till trav’ling days are done.
Devotion
There are times in our journey of faith when we realize that the well has run dry. We “hit the wall,” as it were. It is at these moments that we realize that, more often than not, we have been trying to proclaim the kingdom of God relying on our own strength and doing it all our own way. We grow weary in our tasks and lose our hearts for God’s people. We stop depending on God.
What a rich blessing, then, our hymn today becomes to us. The writer reminds us that Jesus calls us to rest in him, to have our strength and joy restored. He invites us to drink from his life-giving well as a man or woman is refreshed by a glass of cold water on a hot summer day. Are you tired and worn out? Are you dying of thirst? Come to Jesus and be renewed.
Prayer
Lord, you offer us in your son Jesus Christ a source of renewal, a source of blessing beyond words, a source of life itself. Help us to draw from his life-giving well as we move forward in faith. Amen.