Be Thou My Vision, ELW 793
1 Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art:
thou my best thought both by day and by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
2 Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my soul's shelter, and thou my high tow'r,
raise thou me heav'nward, O Pow'r of my pow'r.
3 Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise,
thou mine inheritance, now and always:
thou and thou only, the first in my heart,
great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.
4 Light of my soul, after victory won,
may I reach heaven's joys, O heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Devotion
How is your vision? I thought my vision was quite good until I went to the eye doctor and heard her say, "There has been a significant change in your vision. We need to make some changes."
How is your spiritual vision? It is so easy to let our relationship with God get out of focus. Instead of having God be "my best thought by day or by night," God is a passing thought when I pray on the run. Be Thou My Vision calls us to check our spiritual eyesight. Christ, as our vision, complicates our lives because we need to turn away from the vision of what the world calls success and joy; things which can make our eyes grow dim. With Christ as our vision, life is easier. We travel through life with our eyes of faith open to see Christ in the world around us.
Prayer
Loving God, be thou our vision and wisdom. Give us eyes to see you more clearly, hands that are willing to serve and hearts that are willing to love. Amen.