July 19
LEAVE IT THERE
Words and Music by Charles A. Tindley, 1851–1933
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:5)
“Put all your troubles in a sack, take ’em to the Lord, and leave ’em there.” These good words of advice were given by Charles Tindley, the distinguished black Methodist pastor from Philadelphia, to one of his worried parishioners. It was the spark that prompted the pastor to develop this thought and pen the words and music of this familiar gospel hymn in 1916.
Charles H. Spurgeon, the noted English Baptist pastor, once gave this similar advice: “If you tell your troubles to God, you put them into the grave. If you roll your burden anywhere else, it will roll back again.”
We will never be able to escape the troubles that life brings, but we can always turn to the Lord for strength and deliverance and then … “leave it there.” When we cannot calmly leave our burdens and affairs in God’s hands, we are often tempted to use wrong means to solve our problems, such as relying upon our human wisdom rather than God’s guidance. We need to seek relief for our problems by giving them to God.
If the world from you withhold of its silver and its gold, and you have to get along with meager fare, just remember, in His word, how He feeds the little bird—Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
If your body suffers pain and your health you can’t regain, and your soul is almost sinking in despair; Jesus knows the pain you feel; He can save and He can heal—Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
When your enemies assail and your heart begins to fail, don’t forget that God in heaven answers prayer; He will make a way for you and will lead you safely thru—Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
When your youthful days are gone and old age is stealing on, and your body bends beneath the weight of care, He will never leave you then; He’ll go with you to the end—Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
Chorus: Leave it there, leave it there; take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out—Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
For Today: Job 13:15; Psalm 55:22; 62:8; Isaiah 26:3, 4; Philippians 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7
Make a mental list of the problems and anxieties that are troubling you. Ask God to show you how to discard these from your mind’s preoccupation and simply to leave them with Him. Use this musical message to help—
Kenneth W. Osbeck, Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1996). 218.
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