The Story Behind the Hymn: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

You know, the Christian walk never comes as a wide, paved road with all the comforts of home, rather, it’s a narrow, dangerous path with rocks and roots that reach out to us trying to cause us to stumble and things that attack us along the way. It’s not about living a charmed life with a Heavenly Father who acts like a fairy godmother waving a magic wand and banishing the obstacles in our pathways.

Jesus said it himself in Luke 9:23: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

We all know that not only was Christ’s cross the heaviest of burdens, but it was there while hanging on the cross that Jesus, as he felt the weight of the sins of the world separate him from his father, cried out in an anguished and heartbroken cry. He couldn’t FEEL God’s presence. And yet, God was there, no doubt his heart aching at the price they were paying to redeem us from sin.

So, taking up our cross is never easy, and sometimes, in our darkest hours, we wonder why we can’t feel God’s presence, and yet, He’s there, carrying us through the darkness. Isaiah 43:2 says “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.”

Join me as we uncover in today’s story two humble, but bold women who sacrificed so much to do God’s work in the beautiful story behind our beloved hymn: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

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SONG RECOMMENDATIONS:

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (Eventide Mix) - Salt of the Sound
   • Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (Eventide Mix)  

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus - Noah James and the Executives
   • Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus  

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus - Sounds Like Reign
   • Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus // Sounds L...  

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

"Blind Woman Wrote Hymn About Vision" The Rogersville Review. February 25th 2021.
https://www.therogersvillereview.com/...

Field, Chris. "Blind Helen Howarth Lemmel Turns Our Eyes" Christ Field Blog November 14, 2008.
http://chrisfieldblog.com/2008/11/14/...

Fielding, David |Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus: The Story Behind the Hymn" The Castfield's Church. September 15th, 2020.
https://castlefieldschurch.org.uk/tur...

"Helen Lemmel" Last FM. January 4th 2020.
https://www.last.fm/music/Helen+Lemme...

"Helen Lemmel - Ballard Baptist Church" Our Christian Heritage. Copyright 2022.
https://christianheritage.info/places...

"Lilias Trotter" Wikipedia. November 24, 2022
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilias_...

Miskov, Jennifer A., "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus: The Inspiring Story of This Hymn's Origin"
November 9th, 2020
https://jenmiskov.com/blog/turnyourey... fbclid=IwAR1C2WmrwaEiThrY0t0_2DFrB85GOmT1B7dSw93b6WgjwIaQfhLl_2Xt448

"Mrs. Mary Helen Howarth Lemmel" Find A Grave. November 17, 2014.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1...

Rice, Richard L. "Helen Lemmel (1863-1961) Where Living Begins Wordpress
https://wherelivingbegins.wordpress.c...

Rockness, Miriam "Reflections on the Art and Writings of Lilias Trotter" Lilias Trotter Wordpress. October 16, 2012.
https://ililiastrotter.wordpress.com/...

"Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" Songfacts.com Copyright 2022
https://www.songfacts.com/facts/helen...

"What is the Keswick Movement and is it Biblical?" Got Questions. January 4th, 2022
https://www.gotquestions.org/Keswick-...

"Women's History Month 2018: Lilias Trotter" SOAS University of London. March 8th 2018.
https://blogs.soas.ac.uk/archives/201...