I ran ahead to open the door for the resident assistant and our nurse friend as they carried Hannah’s limp body out of her dorm room and down the stairs. At the base of the stairs, we met up with my husband, David. He gathered Hannah in his arms and carried her to our car to wait for the ambulance. Dave placed his foot on the running board of the Yukon and sat Hannah on his knee with one arm wrapped around her back and the other hand holding her head up at the base of her neck to try to keep her airway open and to stop her head from bobbing around. I don’t know at what exact moment Hannah’s soul left her body. I do know that in her final moments she knew that her parents were at her side, and she was resting in her loving, earthly father’s arms. At some point, she went from those arms into the safe, everlasting arms of her Savior, Jesus Christ.
At Hannah’s funeral, the MBU students that attended our church sang together “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”. In the 1880s, Professor Anthony Showalter was inspired to write the chorus of this song after receiving two letters from former music students who were stricken with grief after the loss of their wives. The Lord placed on Showalter’s mind the first part of the verse in Deuteronomy chapter 33 verse 27, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…” This verse is alluding to the idea that if you are facing trials, hardships, trouble, or danger you have a safe dwelling place to retreat to and find strength in Jesus’ arms that are everlasting.
After some time, Showalter wrote to a friend, Elisha Hoffman, and asked if he would write stanzas to finish the song. Hoffman was delighted with the opportunity and got to work on it right away. His first verse talks about having fellowship, joy, being blessed, and peace. How is this possible when you are hurting? Ephesians 3:19 mentions how these things are beyond our understanding, “and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fulness of God.” We as fragile creatures desire to find ways to stop the hurt, especially when we don’t understand it. There is only one place to find the mending of our hearts. It is not in the world as John 14:27 tells us, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” We find the fellowship, joy, blessing, and peace as we lean on Jesus’ arms and trust in Him.
Each of us is on a journey. That journey continues until we leave this world. Verse two brings attention to the paths that we take on our journey. We have a decision to make between two possible ways. There is a dark way that goes away from our Father’s loving arms. This path is what the world only knows how to offer in order to bring comfort. Covering our pain and hurt with drugs, medication, alcohol, isolation, or even taking one’s own life as a last resort. There is no healing down this path. The other path brings strength, growth, hope, and unmeasurable blessing. As we choose the path that leads to God, His love and care for us, mends our hearts with each passing day.
The final stanza asks questions about what we have to dread or fear in our lives. I looked up to see how many times the Bible tells us not to fear. The first site that popped up said that most people believe that the Bible tells us not to fear 365 times. When I saw that number, my first thought was this number represents every day. The site continued to say that due to different wording, such as “not afraid,” there cannot be an exact number of times that the Bible tells us not to fear. However, there are enough verses to cover each day of a full year. God knew that we would struggle with fear, grief, dread, and sorrow. It is a comfort to know that years ago, when God used certain men to write the Bible, He saw fit to add encouraging scripture for us to lean on.
It brings me joy and blessed assurance in knowing that as Hannah’s soul slipped away from David’s arms, she landed safely and securely in the everlasting arms of Jesus Christ.
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
Verse 1
What a fellowship,
What a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness,
What a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Chorus
Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Verse 2
O how sweet to walk
In this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
O how bright the path
Grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Verse 3
What have I to dread,
What have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace
With my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
We are blessed.
Hannah Helps 