In the morning when I rise,
In the morning when I rise,
In the morning when I rise,
Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.
Give Me Jesus
I love this song! I have a history with this song. I grew up singing it in church as a child surrounded by my family and friends, spiritual fathers, and mothers. Then as an adult, God reminded me of it. I shouldn’t have been surprised that when I stepped back into relationship with my savior in my early 30s He took me right back to where we left off. When I chose what to sing to King Jesus songs like Holy Holy Holy, Hosanna in the Highest, Holy Ground, and Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful came quickly to my mind.
Sometimes I was impatient with the music that seemed out of style, but every time God would rock me and show up so strongly, I learned to obey those promptings from the Holy Spirit. I was learning to sing what God wanted to hear, and He was reshaping what I wanted to sing.
There was almost an entire month that I sang Give Me Jesus in the shower. It was in the middle of a time of deep Bible study and constant praise. God was giving me such motivation to consume the entire Bible and to seek Him day by day, moment by moment. He was so close and so present. Every morning I woke up and studied His word intensely.
Next, I would go outside and do chores and walk on our property praising Him, with music blasting through my headphones. Inevitably when all that was done and I would clean up for the day, I would walk into my bathroom, turn on the hot water and Give Me Jesus would start playing in my mind. It took no time for me to join in singing as God and I walked through all of the things that I would trade for Jesus, that I was trading for Jesus. I was loud, you can ask my children.
I’d let go of attachments and fears
“Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have garbage entertainment
Just give me Jesus.”
***
“You can have my insecurities
Just give me Jesus”
***
“You can have how people see me
Just give me Jesus”
***
“You can have my friendships
Just give me Jesus
As I chose what was important there were some things I needed to leave behind, and some things I needed to hand over to Jesus because He could do better with them than I ever would. My marriage, my children, my possessions, my schedule. My pain, my struggles for importance and respect, my trust. With this simple yet powerful chorus, He walked me through being a living sacrifice and casting all my cares on Him.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
It’s time for me to put this training song back to use. The acoustics in this bathroom aren’t as good as the last house but I think I’ll give it a go. I’ll sing to Jesus and offer Him my sacrifices and inform the enemy that I’m clearing house again and making Jesus the one and only priority. I’ll let God guide me and I’ll let Him show me what I have taken back from the King of the Universe and what I have prioritized over Him.
***
For more history on the song, check out this link.