Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Upheld

 In the beautiful old hymn by Fanny Crosby, He Hideth My Soul, there is this line:
"He holdeth me up and I shall not be moved,  He giveth me strength as my day."

We were singing this hymn yesterday in one of our church services at a local nursing home, and a memory was triggered of something I have done hundreds of times.

In Labor & Delivery our patients come in usually scared of three things:  getting an IV, getting an epidural and the delivery itself.  Ironically, most are more scared of the epidural than even the delivery, perhaps because they know the delivery will be much easier once the epidural is in place

When a mother is to receive an epidural, she is positioned sitting on the side of the bed.  Her nurse stands directly in front of her, holding her shoulders and helping the mother to keep her back in the "mad cat" position which is the optimal position for epidural placement.

There is a point in the epidural placement where the mother is instructed not to move.  Even if she has the worst contraction of her labor up to that point, she needs to remain perfectly still.  It is the nurses' job to help the mother reach that goal.  To accomplish this, she will often be whispering encouragement and direction to the patient as the procedure progresses.  When the epidural is completed and  she is returned to a supine position, the majority of women say, "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

In our lives, there are often things about which we will be tempted to be fear.  There are things that perhaps we are dreading.  If we know the Lord Jesus and are trusting in Him, He will be with us during those times, He "holdeth me up and I shall not be moved,  He giveth me strength as my day," as Fanny Crosby described.  His Spirit will speak encouragement and directions to our spirits.  When we pass through those moments, we will know that it was the Lord, His grace and His mercy which have carried us through those difficult spots.  

"...and as thy days, so shall thy strength be."
Deuteronomy 33:25


He Hideth My Soul
by Fanny Crosby


A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
  A wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
  Where rivers of pleasure I see. 

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock

  That shadows a dry, thirsty land;

He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
  And covers me there with His hand,
    And covers me there with His hand.



A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
  He taketh my burden away;
He holdeth me up and I shall not be moved,
  He giveth me strength as my day.



He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock

  That shadows a dry, thirsty land;

He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
  And covers me there with His hand,
    And covers me there with His hand.



With numberless blessings each moment He crowns,
  And, filled with His fulness divine,
I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God,
  For such a Redeemer as mine!



He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock

  That shadows a dry, thirsty land;

He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
  And covers me there with His hand,
    And covers me there with His hand.



When clothed in His brightness, transported I rise
  To meet Him in clouds of the sky,
His perfect salvation, His wonderful love,
  I’ll shout with the millions on high.


He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock

  That shadows a dry, thirsty land;

He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
  And covers me there with His hand,
    And covers me there with His hand.

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