Algeria, 1901: Pen in hand, forty-seven-year-old missionary Lilias Trotter gazed out over the foothills of the Atlas mountains of northern Africa. A flash of yellow caught her eye and turned her eyes to Jesus. As she began to write in her journal, she had no idea that her words would inspire a hymn that most English-speaking Christians today have sung.

Trotter’s Dandelion Reflection: Turn Full Your Soul’s Vision to Jesus

Trotter later revised her journal reflections and published them in a pamphlet, titled Focussed.1 “It was in a little wood in early morning. The sun was climbing behind a steep cliff in the east, and its light was flooding nearer and nearer and then making pools among the trees. Suddenly, from a dark corner of purple brown stems and tawny moss, there shone out a great golden star. It was just a dandelion, and half withered — but it was full face to the sun, and had caught into its heart all the glory it could hold, and was shining so radiantly that the dew that lay on it still made a perfect aureole round its head…”

“Look at the window bars, and the beyond is only a shadow; look through at the distance, and it is the bars that turn into ghosts. You have to choose which you will fix your gaze upon and let the other go… Turn full your soul’s vision to Jesus, and look and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him, and the Divine [attraction] by which God’s saints are made, even in this 20th century, will lay hold of you. For ‘He is worthy’ to have all there is to be had in the heart that He has died to win.” In the early decades of the 1900s, this pamphlet with Trotter’s artistic illustrations made its way back to Trotter’s native Britain and then to the United States.

Lemmel’s Hymn: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

In 1918, British-American hymnwriter Helem Lemmel turned Trotter’s prose into a beautiful poem that she called, “The Heavenly Vision.”

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Lemmel’s poem not only captured Trotter’s reflections on her motivations for serving Christ on the mission field but also focused them, pointing even more vividly to Jesus Christ. The original stanza became the chorus, followed by three verses also based on Trotter’s writing.

When Lemmel put her poem to music, her new hymn quickly gained traction. In 1924, a prominent Christian movement, that had influenced Trotter in her early years, chose this new hymn as its theme song for its annual conference. Soon, this hymn and its new name, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” spread to churches and hymnbooks throughout the English-speaking world.2

Let’s meditate on this hymns’ verses. We will examine the Scriptural quotes and allusions. Then, we will return to the climax of the chorus.

1. Look to Jesus for Eternal Life

(1) O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

The first stanza points directly to Jesus. He is the answer for every troubled soul (John 14:1, 27). He is that light in the darkness (John 1:4–5). Only Jesus provides life. The hymn alludes to John 10:10, where Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Turn your eyes upon Jesus for abundant, everlasting life both now and forever.

2. Look to Jesus for Victory Over Sin

(2) Thro’ death into life everlasting,
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion–
For more than conqu’rors we are!

The second stanza moves to the implications of eternal life. Once again, the focus is Jesus. He is the firstfruits, the first of many who pass from death to life (1 Corinthians 15:20; John 5:24). He rose, so we too will rise if we believe on Him. Until that day, we live in His victory, overcoming sin through dependence on Him. This stanza quotes both Romans 6:14–“sin shall not have dominion over you”–and Romans 8:37–“in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Turn your eyes upon Jesus for victory over sin in your daily life.

3. Look to Jesus As You Witness for Him

(3) His Word shall not fail you–He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

The final verse once again directs us to Jesus. He will keep all His promises from His pledge to be with us as we make disciples around the world (Matthew 28:20) to His comfort as we encounter opposition. He works everything for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Jesus sends us to a dying world. And He entrusts to us His gospel, the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). Turn your eyes upon Jesus for strength to share about Him whether it be next door or Algeria, North Africa.

Chorus: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Be focused on Jesus. Let everything else fade in comparison. As the apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 3:2–3, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Jesus is most important–His glory and His grace. Be the dandelion, shining and reflecting the sun’s rays. Turn your eyes upon Jesus and point everyone you meet to Him.

Lilias Trotter’s Story

For more of Trotter’s story, read Mirian Rockness’ biography, A Passion for the Impossible: The Life of Lillas Trotter. If that is a bit more than you are looking for, try out my missions devotionals. In just a few pages, Daring Dependence highlights Trotter’s ministry in Algeria, bringing the gospel to women and children who never had a chance to hear it. Daring Decision tells the riveting story of how God led her away from a promising career in art to “seek first the kingdom of God” on the mission field.

The New “Turn Your Eyes” Hymn

In 2019, a new hymn building on Lemmel’s work came out which also captures many of Trotter’s original insights. It turns the original chorus into the first of four stanzas and adds a beautiful new chorus which turns our eyes anew to Jesus Christ.

  1. Focussed is the British spelling, not a misprint. ↩︎
  2. Miriam Huffman Rockness, A Passion for the Impossible: The Life of Lilias Trotter (Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House, 2003), 308. ↩︎

Photo Credit: Jan Ledermann on unsplash

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