The Inspiration Story Behind the hymn "I'd Rather Have Jesus

Join us on Faithfullyliven as we journey through the stirring narrative of Martin James Ross, whose powerful transformation from a life gripped by alcoholism to faith that inspired the creation of the beloved hymn "I'd Rather Have Jesus" by Rhea F. Miller in 1922. Whether you're intimately familiar with this cherished hymn or discovering its inspiration for the first time, this episode serves as a stirring reminder of the transformative power of faith and the enduring impact of a life devoted to living faithfully.

References for the show
Hymnary.org Rhea F. Miller https://hymnary.org/person/Miller_Rhea
101 More Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck (1985)

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

Welcome to Faithfully Living, the podcast where we learn how to live for Christ in our daily lives. I'm Dwan, your host, and I would like to invite you on a journey with me to explore and learn how to be a faithful follower of Christ, of Christ. Hey everyone, welcome to Faithfully Living Podcast, where we strive to encourage you to live for Christ faithfully by offering guidance on how to study the Bible, how to understand the Bible better and how to remain faithful to historic Christianity in a contemporary society. You know, before hymns were written, believers used to sing psalms. You know the Bible provided the words of worship to. You know many believers along the way and, if you've been listening to the last couple episodes of the podcast, we have been exploring the stories of some of the hymns that we know and love, and maybe some hymns that you've never heard of before. Now I am in awe of how God has gifted people with words to tell a story of his faithfulness in their lives, and you know these hymns and many others have inspired and encouraged us as believers for many generations and, prayerfully, they will continue to inspire. In today's episode, we're going to internal the eternal choice to prioritize our relationship with God over the temporal pleasures of this world.

Speaker 1: 1:59

All right, let's travel back to 1922. It's when this hymn was written, and it was written by Rhea F Miller. You know the words were inspired by a personal story of her father's journey to faith and the lasting impact it had on her. Here are the lyrics that she penned. This is the first verse. I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. I'd rather be his than have riches untold. I'd rather have Jesus than houses or land. I'd rather be led by his nail-pierced hands and here's the chorus. Rather be led by his nail-pierced hands and here's the course Than to be the king of a vast domain or to be held in sin's death's way. I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world awards today. You know this hymn's inspiration came from her own father's life, a man who lived a life very different from the one that he found through faith. I'm sorry, thank you.

Speaker 1: 4:07

Rhea F Ross lived in a small town with her family. Her father, martin James Ross, was no stranger to the world's temptation, and particularly his temptation was alcohol, and he struggled with it for most of his early life. You know his story is a familiar one. At the time, in the 1920s, alcoholism was common, and for Ray's father. It had a strong grip on him and it pulled him away from God and his family. He had been raised in the Christian family but as a young man he drifted from his faith and the temptation of alcoholism in the world got the best of him. You know, he would steal money from his wife purse, you know, just enough to get a drink.

Speaker 1: 4:58

But Mrs Ross, she was. She was faithful. She was good, a good, solid Christian. Faithful she, she lived her life for Christ and she displayed that to her family and to her husband. She would show her devotion, she would walk to church, you know, no matter what kind of weather. She was there to serve God's people. And eventually her steadfastness broke through the walls of her husband's stubbornness and resistance to the faith, and stubbornness and resistance to the faith.

Speaker 1: 5:36

So one day Rhea's father had a powerful moment of clarity and spiritual convictions and from what I read it says, like in the quietness of his home, in his thoughts, he felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit. And it was at that moment. He was, he looked at the direction of his life and realized that he needed to do something more, um, something greater than the empty promises of the world and at that point he decided that he would live for christ, he would turn away from alcoholism and all the things that came along with it, and he made a choice to to follow the lord. So one night at church, in a church service, he began his testimony on how much jesus meant to him and he said that I'd rather have jesus than all the gold and silver in the whole world, I'd rather have him than anything this world has to offer. And Rhea heard these words and she said there and heard the words from her father, and it gave her words to this poem that she wrote I'd rather have Jesus. She witnessed a transformation in her father firsthand, because she knew what she grew up with and she saw his former life of being an alcoholic, and now she also is seeing, or saw, the new life that he embraced with Jesus as a sinner for his life. And this made a deep impact on her and, like I said, it inspired her to write the words of the song I'd Rather have Jesus. And it goes to show you how Christ can change people's lives, even from the darkest moments in which they struggle with and the darkest sins that they have to overcome, because they know through Christ, if they surrender to him, he is more than able and willing to help them if they ask for his help.

Speaker 1: 7:47

Here are the second and third verses of the hymn. It goes I'd rather have Jesus than man's applause. I'd rather be faithful to his dear cause. I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame. I'd rather be true to his holy name. And then you have the chorus, and then the last, the third and final verse he's fairer than lilies or rarest bloom. He's sweeter than honey from out the comb. He's all that my hungering spirit needs. I'd rather have Jesus and let him lead All right.

Speaker 1: 8:33

So we're going to fast forward a couple of years where we meet another key figure in the story of this hymn, george Beverly Shea. You might know him as one of the voices behind the most beloved hymns, alongside Billy Graham and Billy Graham in his crusade and Billy Graham in his crusade. So when George Beverly Shea was young, he too was at a crossroads, but similar crossroads. He had a talent for singing and he had many opportunities to sing for the secular world, with the promise of fame and financial security. But he wasn't sure if he should take that path. And one day, as George was wrestling with this decision, he came down to his family piano at his parents' home and found Rhea Miller's words lying there, propped up by his mother, and she had placed a sheet of lyrics I'd rather have jesus on the piano and hope that it would inspire george. And he sat down. He read through the lyrics and found himself deeply moved by by his message, and it spoke directly to his heart, and he wasn't expecting it.

Speaker 1: 9:56

When I was reading about his story, and the hymn about choosing Jesus over everything the world could offer mirrored the decision he was struggling and wrestling with Should he follow the secular path or should he follow and sing for the Lord? And feeling inspired, george began to play a melody on the piano and he crafted a tune for the words of I'd rather have Jesus. And that's how the tune for the hymn was born. The hymn was born um in the end, um, george beverly shea. He chose to use his talents for god's glory and he's he sung I'd rather have jesus in many churches on the radio and then, like I said, he used to travel with billy graham crusade all over the world. Wow, wasn't that two incredible stories of God's goodness faith and the life of Rea Miller's father and George Beverly Shea. Now, god used one man's testimony of faith to inspire his daughter to write a poem whose words would later influence and impact a young man's life.

Speaker 1: 11:36

Years later, george Beverly Shea's decision to serve the Lord led him to minister to millions of people, and each time he sang, I'd rather have Jesus. It was as if he was renewing his commitment and reminding himself and others of the of the powerful choice to follow jesus above everything else. You know, as believers, what god, what christ, calls us is to a life of surrender, one that is surrendered totally to him. Now jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow him, and in that surrender we learn and trust in God that we, you know, rather have him than all the temporal things around us. Now, I think that's why this hymn has stood the test of time, because it speaks to a decision that every believer, you know, is going to face at some point in life. I'm pretty sure we're going to face that multiple times in our life, if not at least once.

Speaker 1: 12:47

It's not just a song, it's an invitation to ask ourselves what we truly value. And for those who, like Ray Miller's father or George Beverly Shea, to decide to choose Jesus. This hymn becomes more than just word. It becomes a prayer, a declaration and a reminder of what really matters. Alright, so I hope this episode was inspiring for you. Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe and share this with somebody who needs to remember what really matters. And until next time, remember god is always good and is always faithful. Thank you for listening to the podcast. Do me a favor by following the podcast and leaving a review to help spread the word. I look forward to hearing from you. You.