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D0208

A sharing by Helen Chang for this song:

Whenever I heard of a devoted saint in the past I used to wonder what would that person be like? Would he be living a seclusive life so that he could be quiet most of the time to devote himself to reading the Bible and pray most of the day?

I wondered even more as to how he would relate to the people around him including those who may be rowdy, very active and talkative. And what about those who may complain and gossip or those who are groaning in pain and in despair? Would he just exclude himself from everyone and everything around him in order to be a devoted person to God?

Later, after I got married, I started to observe at close range the way my husband lived at home and the way he responded to various challenges from day to day. Slowly yet surely I began to realise that, in fact, he was in touch with God in a quiet manner throughout the day such that nothing seemed to alarm him or to disturb his peaceful relationship with God! Whether it be a great exciting news or an overwhelmingly difficult challenge, I could sense that he had a very stable anchor in the core of his life!

Whereas for me, I realised slowly but also surely that, in fact, I was very easily distracted such that I would be thinking about doing another thing when I was still doing this thing. Needless to say, this attitude and habit would seriously affect my focus on attending to things throughout the day, especially in my relationship with God. I was too easily distracted, just like Martha in Luke 10:41.

So, I started to try various means to help me not be so distracted so that I could focus on God but it did not work for long nor was it consistent, even in the short run. Then as I pondered on how was I ever drawn to anyone or anything in other areas of my life, it soon became clear that, in fact, it was the object which drew my attention and it did not just happen because I had wished for it as a nice idea. So then why didn’t I ask God to keep my attention on Him so that the more I come to appreciate His steadfast love and mercy, the more I would be drawn to Him. Is this not what true devotion is all about? Wouldn’t this be the right solution to prevent me from getting distracted so easily again?

Thankfully, this started to turn my focus aright throughout the day from that time on. That was how this song came to be written as it was actually my own prayer at the time. In fact, it has since been an ongoing prayer of my life. May God Yahweh’s beauty draw your heart to Him also!

(c) 2021 Christian Disciples Church