The Pain And Triumph Of A World Famous Hymn

Ireland, the 1850’s, it is the eve of the long anticipated wedding between Joseph Scriven and his beloved fiancé. After a long courtship and deep love, his beloved bride would gleefully accept his proposal, and with great anticipation they would wait for the day of their wedding to arrive.

However, what should have been a joyous occasion became a devastating time of mourning on what was to be the happiest day of their lives. It would be the first of many losses that Joseph would face. Painfully, Joseph’s fiancé drowned in an accident just hours before she was scheduled to walk down the aisle.

Devastated, he moves far away, across the globe to Canada, as far from the place of pain he could go. There he would spend years in healing, years in questioning, years in pain. Eventually, though he didn’t think he ever would again, he met another woman and fell in love. He proposed, then tragedy struck again. His new love died of pneumonia.

Joseph’s story doesn’t have the tidy happy ending that often comes from heroes of the faith. Perhaps this is one reason his story is so powerful. In fact, after his painful losses he would spend the rest of his life battling depression. But in the valley there is a moment in Joseph Scriven’s life that has touched people from all around the world for over a century.

Not long after his second love died he received word his mother was deathly ill. He had committed himself to giving love wherever he could after going through such devastation. He wanted more than anything to bring light into the darkness people find themselves facing.

In this place of healing, he sat down and penned a poem for his mother, a poem he wrote to encourage her and comfort her. He never intended for it to become world famous or touch millions of lives. But his poem has. Eventually it was set to music and has remained a favorite song for many people for many years.

Here is what Joseph wrote to his mother:

“What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer!”

Sharon Chilson once shared, “God has covered my sins with His immeasurable grace.” Indeed, by his grace he upholds our very lives. Scriven’s words are a reminder that whether we are on top of the mountain or low in the valley, his grace is sufficient. His arms are strong enough to carry our deepest pains, and his love is enough to bring healing in the midst of our greatest fears. Truly, what a friend we have in Jesus.