It has been set to at least four hymn tunes : John Brownlie described the hymn 's story in his book '' The Hymns and Hymn Writers of the Church Hymnary '' : Charlotte 's brother , the Rev. H. V. Elliott planned to hold a charity bazaar designed to give , at a nominal cost , a high education to the daughters of clergymen supported by St Mary Church : The night before the bazaar she was kept wakeful by distressing thoughts of her apparent uselessness ; and these thoughts passed by a transition easy to imagine into a spiritual conflict , till she questioned the reality of her whole spiritual life , and wondered whether it were anything better after all than an illusion of the emotions , an illusion ready to be sorrowfully dispelled . The next day , the busy day of the bazaar , she lay upon her sofa in that most pleasant boudoir set apart for her in Westfield Lodge , ever a dear resort to her friends . " The troubles of the night came back upon her with such force that she felt they must be met and conquered in the grace of God . She gathered up in her soul the great certainties , not of her emotions , but of her salvation : her Lord , His power , His promise . And taking pen and paper from the table she deliberately set down in writing , for her own comfort , " the formulae of her faith . " Hers was a heart which always tended to express its depths in verse . So in verse she restated to herself the Gospel of pardon , peace , and heaven . " Probably without difficulty or long pause " she wrote the hymn , getting comfort by thus definitely " recollecting " the eternity of the Rock beneath her feet . There , then , always , not only for some past moment , but " even now " she was accepted in the Beloved " Just as I am " . Just as I am - without one plea , But that Thy blood was shed for me , And that Thou bidst me come to Thee , - O Lamb of God , I come ! Just as I am - and waiting not To rid my soul of one dark blot , To Thee , whose blood can cleanse each spot , - O Lamb of God , I come ! Just as I am - though toss 'd about With many a conflict , many a doubt , Fightings and fears within , without , - O Lamb of God , I come ! Just as I am - poor , wretched , blind ; Sight , riches , healing of the mind , Yea , all I need , in Thee to find , - O Lamb of God , I come ! Just as I am - Thou wilt receive , Wilt welcome , pardon , cleanse , relieve ; Because Thy promise I believe , - O Lamb of God , I come ! Just as I am - Thy love unknown Has broken every barrier down ; Now to be Thine , yea , Thine alone , - O Lamb of God , I come ! Just as I am - of that free love The breadth , length , depth , and height to prove , Here for a season , then above , - O Lamb of God , I come ! Billy Graham converted to Christianity in 1934 in a revival meeting in Charlotte , North Carolina , led by evangelist Mordecai Ham hearing the altar call song " Just As I Am " . This song became an altar call song in the Billy Graham crusades in the latter half of the twentieth century . Graham used the title of the hymn as the title of his 1997 book - '' Just As I Am : The Autobiography of Billy Graham '' . Michael W. Smith sang the song in a tribute to Graham at the 44th GMA Dove Awards
44th GMA Dove Awards
44th GMA Dove Awards
Just As I Am (hymn)