I found myself humming along to the chorus. I rejoice in my redeemer, greatest treasure, wellspring of my soul. And I will trust in him, no other. My soul is satisfied in him alone.
It’s the last sentence that stopped my scrubbing. My soul is satisfied in him alone. In that moment, I felt some shame about even humming the line because that day, that week, I had not been feeling particularly satisfied in Jesus alone. In fact, it had been a pretty dry week spiritually, with little time in prayer and the word.
There, in the kitchen, I faced a minor spiritual crisis. Should I sing this song right now, I wondered. Should I sing words that don’t feel true.
Something similar occurred again in Sunday worship earlier this week. What a beautiful name it is, nothing compares to this, we sang, and I later wondered again: Do I really believe that nothing compares to Jesus? Do I live like that, or do I fill my life with things of lesser significance? And so: Maybe I shouldn’t sing that song, either.
As I thought through the questions, I realized the words of those songs aren’t meant to describe who I am right now, but rather truth. So when I sing, “my soul is satisfied in him alone,” it may not be my experience, but it is the truth. And when I sing “nothing compares” to Jesus, I may not feel it In that moment, but it speaks truth to my fickle soul.
So, let’s sing this week, in the shower and the kitchen and the car and everywhere we go, and then when we gather in the sanctuary on Sunday. In doing this, we will tell each other who Jesus is. We could all use some more of that.