As a young woman in Brighton, England, Charlotte Elliot (1789-1871) was known as “carefree Charlotte.” She was a popular portrait artist and a writer of humorous poetry. When in her early thirties, Charlotte suffered a serious illness that left her as a bedridden invalid for the rest of her life. She was often in severe pain, which left her weak and feeling useless. Her broken health hardened her and she sank into despondency and rebellion against God. “If God loved me,” she muttered, “He would not treat me this way.”
One day in 1822, when Charlotte’s pain made her unusually irritable, the family had as a guest Rev. Caesar Malan. Over dinner, Charlotte lost her temper, and railed against God and her family in a violent outburst. Her embarrassed family left the room, and Pastor Malan was left alone with her.
“You are tired of yourself, aren’t you?” he asked. “You are holding on to your anger and hate because you have nothing else in the world to cling to. Consequently, you have become sour, bitter, and resentful.”
“So, what is your cure?” Charlotte asked sarcastically.
He replied, “Your cure is the faith you are despising. If you would become a Christian, you could have peace in your heart.”
“I do want to be at peace,” she said, “and I want to believe in Jesus, but I don’t know how. I have not been a good person and I don’t have much to offer. What must I do?”
“Come to Jesus just as you are,” he said. “Come with your quick temper and with all your anger; come with your pride and your shame, come with your weakness and your pain and your despair. Come just as you are.”
In time, Charlotte Elliot did come to Jesus. And she did eventually experience a peace and a joy that, despite her ongoing afflictions, lasted for 49 years until her death in 1871.
Fourteen years after her conversion, in 1836, Charlotte was visiting at the home of her brother. Everyone had gone to a gathering at the church, but the frail Charlotte had to again stay at home alone. Perhaps pondering upon the words of Pastor Malan years before, and perhaps reflecting on her own uselessness, she began to write. Before her family returned home, she had written one of the best-loved hymns of all time.
“Just As I Am” was first published as a poem in a leaflet in 1841, and was set to music by American composer William B. Bradbury in 1849. When loved ones sifted through her papers after her death, they found over a thousand letters she had kept in which people expressed their gratitude for the way this hymn touched their lives. Out of her painful experience, she could speak to the pain and heartache of others.
“Just As I Am” is the best known hymn of over 150 hymns that Elliot wrote. It became the most popular evangelistic hymn of the 19th century, as it was used by the famous Dwight Moody in his meetings. Thirty years after Moody’s death, Billy Graham was converted at a church meeting and walked to the altar while “Just As I Am” was being played. He went on to speak to more people about Christ than any other person in history. Graham used this hymn at the close of all his stadium meetings, making it the most widely used evangelistic hymn of the 20th century.
————————————–
“Jesus knows, and he alone, what it is, day after day, and hour after hour, to fight against almost overpowering weakness and exhaustion, and not yield to sloth and depression; but to rise every morning determined to take for my motto: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
–Charlotte Elliot
************************************
Matthew 11:28 — (Jesus said), “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
John 6:37b — (Jesus said),”Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”
Acts 16:30-31 — He brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”
II Corinthians 1:3-4 — Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
Luke 9:23 — Then Jesus said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
************************************
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
To rid my soul of one dark blot;
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
With many a conflict, many a doubt;
Fightings within, and fears without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Sight, riches, healing of the mind;
Yes, all I need, in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Has broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Related Posts
