By Annelise Jagitsch
My sin, O the joy of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
These words come from the second stanza of hymn #530 “It Is Well With My Soul”. For years I have sung this song repeatedly without really digesting the words. I always thought it was a pretty hymn with a good message, but I didn’t know what the message was.
I was always confused by the second stanza, which says, “My sin, O the joy of this glorious thought…” Why would the thought of my sin be glorious? Why would I be joyful? It didn’t make sense. Then one day as we were singing this precious hymn I began to pay more attention to the rest of the stanza. “My sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more…” That’s beautiful! The song never told me to be joyful in my sin or think it was glorious. It was saying that I can be joyful because I don’t have to carry my sins through life. I can give them to God. They have been nailed to the cross and there is no reason for me to despair.
I can be free of my sins because Jesus already took them. I have to come to Him and ask Him to forgive me. “Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul.”
When you make mistakes or sin, don’t despair thinking that you have to carry this nasty burden of your failure around with you. Instead, praise the Lord! He took your sin with Him to the cross where it was nailed. You don’t have to bear that burden anymore. Give it to Jesus. Go to Him as you are and tell Him what you have done. He won’t turn you away. He is waiting for you. Will you trust Him?