The Word Of The Lord Stands Forever /Guest Post/

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

"Be Thou My Vision"

By 4Him 

Riches I need not

Nor man’s empty praise

I am so excited to have my second guest post, written by one of my accountability partners, Caroline. Caroline is a young fantasy writer who writes Christian non-fiction on her blog Live to the Lord. She likes chocolate, lazy hound dogs, bookstores, libraries, office supplies, and most importantly loves God. In this article, Caroline is sharing her reflections on the hymn BeThou My Vision. Once you finish reading this article make sure to check out the other articles on her blog. 

~~~~~

“Be Thou My Vision” became one of my favorite songs when we first began quarantine. The first reason was that it was an easy worship song to sing along to when there was no church, as it’s an old hymn with a simple tune. The second reason was its message.

My favorite line is probably:

Riches I need not

Nor man’s empty praise

It talks about how God is our inheritance, and we don’t need anything except Him. Often we get stuck on possessions or popularity or other worldly things without thinking about it. This song reminds us that we don’t need that stuff because God loves us and keeping Him in our vision is the only thing that truly matters. And the Psalms also declare the same message.

"The life of mortals is like grass,

they flourish like a flower of the field; 

the wind blows over it and it is gone, 

and its place remembers it no more. 

But from everlasting to everlasting 

the Lord’s love is with those who fear 

him, 

and his righteousness with their 

children’s children— 

with those who keep his covenant

and remember to obey his precepts.” — Psalm 103:15-18

The psalmist is not the whole one to say this about worldly things, but Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew when talking about treasures:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." --Matthew 6:19-21

We don’t need anything except Jesus. We don’t need to be popular, rich, have a beautiful house, or a perfect family; as long as we remember Jesus and what He did because of His love for us, we have our place in heaven- a place where things can last forever.

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”-- John 14:3

So how do we keep God in our vision and avoid thinking about man’s empty praise? By spending time with him frequently. If we keep learning and reminding ourselves that God is better than those worldly things, we can keep those things from affecting us. And if ever words or praise do hurt us or make us too proud, we can pray to God, asking Him to help us focus on Him. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. -- Proverbs 3:5-6

Keep the Lord in your vision- He is better than anything of this world.