Behind the Hymn: No One Understand Like Jesus

Do you ever have days when your heart is heavy? Do you feel no one cares?

We all have times when we are lost, floundering, struggling to understand the difficult times, feel lonely and all alone.

No One Understand Like Jesus was written by John W. Peterson.

John W. Peterson was born on November 1, 1921 in Lindsborg, Kansas. After serving as an Air Force pilot in World War II and graduating the American Conservatory of Music, he served as President and Editor-in-Chief of Singspiration.

Peterson wrote the song during his early years of ministry.

He wrote:  "At one time I had a fairly responsible position with a well-known gospel ministry. One day a supervisory position opened up in my department. I was led to believe that I was to be promoted to this position. I was thrilled and challenged by the prospect of a new joy. But I was by-passed, and a man from the outside was brought in to fill the position.  There followed days of agonizing heart searching. It was all I could do to keep from becoming bitter. One night I had occasion to spend an evening with the man who was brought in for "my" position. For some reason or other, though otherwise a very pleasant fellow, that night he became quite caustic in some of his remarks to me; and I was deeply hurt.   Later that evening, after returning home, I was sitting in our living room thinking about the events of the past days and about the bitter experiences of that evening. I began to feel very alone and forsaken. Suddenly, I sensed the presence of the Lord in an unusual way and my mind was diverted from my difficulties to His faithfulness and sufficiency. Soon the thought occurred to me that He fully understood and sympathized with my situation--in fact, no one could ever completely understand or care as did He. Before long, the idea for the song came and I began to write."
Jesus performed miracles

The song was first published in 1952.

John W. Peterson wrote over a thousand hymns throughout his career, including “It Took a Miracle”, “Over the Sunset Mountains”, “Heaven Came Down”, “So Send I You”, “Springs of Living Water”, “Jesus is Coming Again”, “Surely Goodness and Mercy”, “This is the day that the Lord hath made” and “O Glorious Love”. He also wrote 35 cantatas and in 1986 was inducted to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. He died on September 20, 2006.

Regardless of how difficult life becomes and how alone you may feel remember no one ever cares for you like Jesus. Turn to him and cry out for help. {And if you need to, seek professional help and assistance.}

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