By The Way: The One Thing Needed

By Scott Raible on July 26, 2025.

Helen Lemmel is not a household name but her hymn has circled the globe for over a century.

In 1922, after losing her health and her marriage, Lemmel came across a small gospel tract that read, “Turn your eyes upon Him. Look full into His face and you will find the things of earth will grow strangely dim.”

Those simple words struck her like lightning. Out of her pain and loss, she wrote,

“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.”

What makes that hymn so enduring? It echoes the very heart of Jesus’ words to Martha in Luke 10:41-42: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The “one thing needed” is this: a heart fixed on Jesus. Not a life free from tasks or responsibilities, but a life anchored in His presence first.

Helen Lemmel could have turned bitter, but she turned her eyes upward. And in doing so, she discovered that everything else-pain, loss, even worldly success-faded in comparison to Christ.

Fast-forward to today.

We live in a world noisier and busier than Martha’s kitchen ever was. Our lives are filled with the “many things”-constant notifications, relentless schedules, endless scrolling. And yet, Jesus’ gentle words still cut through the chaos: “Only one thing is needed.”

The question is: Where are your eyes? Are they glued to screens, fixed on deadlines, caught up in worries? Or are they looking full in His wonderful face?

The promise of the hymn is the promise of Scripture: when you choose Jesus first, the things of earth grow strangely dim-not because they disappear, but because they lose their grip on you. His glory and grace reframe everything.

So this week, take a cue from Helen. Find a quiet corner. Silence the phone. Open the Word. Pray the hymn’s words: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.” Because when you choose the one thing needed, you’ll find what Martha missed-and what Mary found: a peace that can never be taken away.

Scott Raible has served as an ordained minister in Medicine Hat for the past twenty years, and started Christian radio in Medicine Hat with Alive 99.5 and was an announcer and music director with 93.7 Praise FM. Scott can be reached at scottraible@gmail.com

Scott Raible has served as an ordained minister in Medicine Hat for the past twenty years, and started Christian radio in Medicine Hat with Alive 99.5 and was an announcer and music director with 93.7 Praise FM. Scott can be reached at scottraible@gmail.com

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