“To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh”

“To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh”

Hymn: “Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart”

Text: George Crowley (1780-1860)

Tune: MORECAMBE

Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear.

To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh.

The unbearable struggles of the soul. This is something with which we all identify for sure --those back-and-forth-with-God times when we argue with our Maker and ourselves for hours on end… perhaps even for a lifetime. In the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, I sometimes stand amazed; other times I sit defeated. How about you?

This is when I have to do a self-check. Unlike my annual physical, I must do this kind of spiritual examination much more often if I am to stay healthy and maintain a right-relationship with my Blessed Redeemer.

During these assessments, I “check the rising doubt” and curb my rebellious leanings. Doubts? Surely not. I’ve been gladly tethered to the Almighty for as many years as I’ve had breath – first through Hedy and Raymond, then on my own.

Doubt is a struggle of the soul… so is rebellion. Even when our rebellion is beneath the surface and our doubts are never voiced, they can be a struggle of the soul.

This wonderfully-written personal prayer-hymn lays it all out there; it is a raw confession: I struggle, I doubt, I sigh. It also seeks renovation… change.

“Spirit of God, I struggle in my soul; help me to bear up under those strivings to be a victor and not a conquered one. I wrestle with doubt, and I grapple with recurring tendencies to rebel; keep those in check in order that I may not loose faith. I don’t know what I would do without you. Amen.”

Heather Sorenson’s arrangement of this hymn: https://youtu.be/rep4bc3blVY