Thursday, March 12 O Love that Will Not Let Me Go

Scripture:
“Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?” — Psalm 139:7

Hymn Focus:

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

“O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee.”

“I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be.”

Lent often brings us face to face with our limits—our fatigue, our failures, our fear of letting go. In that honest space, the hymn O Love That Will Not Let Me Go speaks a steady word of grace. God’s love is not fragile or conditional; it is faithful, patient, and persistent.

The opening line names a love that refuses to abandon us, even when we stumble or resist. Lent reminds us that repentance is not about earning God’s love, but about returning to it. To “rest my weary soul” is to trust that God’s mercy holds us when our strength is spent.

The hymn’s language of surrender—“I give thee back the life I owe”—mirrors the Lenten call to release what we cling to. Yet this surrender is not loss, but transformation. When our lives are placed back into God’s hands, they are renewed and deepened, flowing “richer, fuller” than before.

As Lent leads us toward the cross, we see this love most clearly in Christ. The love that will not let us go is the love that goes all the way to Calvary—and beyond, into resurrection hope. Lent teaches us to trust that even in darkness, we are never beyond the reach of God’s love.

Prayer

Faithful and loving God,

When we are weary, hold us fast.

When we are afraid to surrender,

remind us that your love will not let us go.

In this Lenten season,

teach us to rest in your mercy

and to offer our lives back to you,

trusting that you are always at work

making us new.

Amen.