From: Ben Kelley
Subject: I need Thee, oh I need Thee

There is an old hymn, "I need Thee every hour", I think we need to rehearse more often.  Many of you may not even know it.  When you have a few moments, read and think through the words of this song. 
 
1.	I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord; 
	no tender voice like thine can peace afford. 
Refrain:
	I need thee, O I need thee; 
	every hour I need thee; 
	O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.

2.	I need thee every hour; stay thou nearby; 
	temptations lose their power when thou art nigh. 
	(Refrain) 

3.	I need thee every hour, in joy or pain; 
	come quickly and abide, or life is vain. 
	(Refrain) 

4.	I need thee every hour; teach me thy will; 
	and thy rich promises in me fulfill. 
	(Refrain) 

5.	I need thee every hour, most Holy One; 
	O make me thine indeed, thou blessed Son. 
	(Refrain)
God, in His eternal wisdom, knows and does what is best for us.  HE knows our frame, after all, HE is the One Who designed and made it.  HE knows that the best thing for us is to realize and be constantly in touch with the truth that we need Him for everything.  We are finite beings, with all the limitations that implies.  We do not possess God's powers.   We could not handle infinite knowledge and power.  Even if we could, it would be terrible for us to have them in our finite state, with our ability to sin.  Remember, that was what God said about Adam and Eve in Genesis 3.  HE said something had to be done to prevent them from living eternally (a god attribute) while in the sinful state.  Now God didn't say that because HE didn't want to share with man, but because HE loved us.  Adam and Eve would have suffered with guilt and the burden of sin forever and ever, with no relief.  That would be, and I mean literally, "Hell-ish."  In that same vein, if we had the infinite knowledge and power of God, able to face and overcome any problem, we would, in our fleshly, sinful condition, gravitate towards "going it on our own."  After all, we wouldn't need God, so why call on Him? Why talk to Him, or spend time in fellowship with Him?  If that were the case, we would miss the blessing of seeking, finding, and fellowshipping with Him.  Again I say, HE places need in us and our lives for our blessing.
 
We think of "need" as a negative thing, something we are saddled with, making us incomplete.  That is not the truth.  Actually, need is a good thing, for it draws us towards the One Who can meet those needs.  God has placed need in us to make us realize the most wonderful thing; HE is there for us.  Instead of lamenting the fact you are in need, would you try thanking God for your need?  Thank Him for the opportunity to know Him (and yourself) better.  Thank Him for allowing you chances to see His great power at work in meeting those needs.  Thank Him by saying, "I need Thee, oh I need Thee."
Ben
 
(If you don't know the music and desire to, you can download and play it (if your pc is set to allow cookies) from the following site after you finish reading this message.  http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh397.sht  (there are many other such sites and songs available, such as http://www.godsgospel.com/midisaz.htm , http://www.cyberhymnal.org/ , http://home.centurytel.net/milleman/ , to name a few).  If you don't know or remember how to access these- while holding down the left mouse button, run your cursor over the individual web address you want to try, which will "highlight" that site.  Then hit the "ctrl" and the "c" keys at the same time.  This copies that information to your clipboard.  Go to your web browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, etc.), clear the address line, and hit "ctrl" and "v" at the same time.  This will paste that copied address to it.  Click "return" or "go" to take you to that site.  Each of these sites have the music to many gospel songs recorded in "midi" which you can download and play on your computer.  A free downloadable midi player software is found at http://www.vanbasco.com/karaokeplayer/
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