Hymns are a wonderful source of teaching about God, about His ways, His faithfulness and His love, among many other things. They are full of rich text that inspires. Many hymns can be a source of encouragement, especially in times of despair or discouragement. One such hymn is Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. The chorus of this wonderful hymn says:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full on His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
These beautiful lyrics speak volumes about the comfort and peace that Jesus gives us when we are troubled, discouraged, or in in despair. Jesus is our source of peace. When we turn to Him, when we focus our hearts and our minds on Him, He overshadows all of the things in our lives that may be causing us to feel troubled or discouraged. Jesus told us that we will have trouble in this world. But, because He has overcome the world, we should take heart and receive the peace that He gives (John 16:33).
Jesus is always there to come alongside us when we are laden down by the burdens and difficulties of life. He wants to take our burdens from us. In Matthew 11:29-30, Jesus said that we will find rest when we take His yoke upon us. Jesus promises that when we place our burdens before Jesus and instead take on His yoke, His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
When we fix our eyes on Jesus, when we think about the cross that He endured for our sake, we will not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 12:2-3). As the hymn tells us, when we look upon Jesus, all of the problems we face, the things of earth, will grow dim. Instead, we will be focused on the light of His glory and His amazing grace. Perhaps one of the best ways through which we can turn our eyes on Jesus and turn our hearts to Him is through our worship. When our voices and our hearts are lifted in praise to Jesus, He is right there with us and His presence will overshadow all of the burdens, the troubles, and the despair and discouragement that the world may throw at us.
A Worshiper's Journal 