Good morning.
For some reason this morning, as
I was doing normal office-type things at the office, the first line to the words
of an old, not-often-sung hymn titled “Sometimes the Shadows Are Deep” written
in 1871 by Erastus Johnson came to mind.
Now, you may not recognize this hymn because it is not often sung
anymore, and its message is not one of joy and happiness. I don’t know why the words of this song came
to me today. Sometimes things like that
just pop up in my mind and then remains
there all day, asking me to consider the meaning of whatever that thing may be.
In the event you may not know the
song, here is the first of three verses.
O sometimes the shadows are deep.
And rough seems the path to the goal.
And sorrows, sometimes how they sweep like tempests down over the soul!
As I said, the song is not one of
rainbows and unicorns. I did some
research on the song, and found that Mr. Johnson wrote the song as a result of
the financial panic of 1871, begun in Chicago as an aftereffect of the Great
Chicago Fire. The panic spread to those
who had been wildly speculating on railroads and real estate, resulting in bank
runs and insolvency of financial institutions.
In those days, there was no Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to
guarantee the liquidity of bank deposits.
Everyone was pretty much on their own.
The economy spiraled down with a renewed depression beginning in 1873
that lasted almost 20 years.
However, let’s not stop with just
the first verse of the song. Because Mr.
Johnson brings the thoughts of the poem around to the Rock of stability in the
midst of great uncertainty and panic.
Here’s what he says in the song.
O sometimes how long
seems the day, And sometimes how weary my feet; But toiling in life's dusty
way, The Rock's blessed shadow, how sweet!
3. O near
to the Rock let me keep If blessings or sorrow prevail, Or climbing the
mountain way steep, Or walking the shadowy vale.
And then the chorus: O then to the Rock let me fly, To the Rock
that is higher than I; O then to the Rock let me fly, To the Rock that is
higher than I!
It has been many decades since I
sang this song in a church service. I
have no clue why those words suddenly appeared in my thoughts today. I’m not especially burdened, depressed, or
otherwise in the dumps. Perhaps it’s the
message of the last part of the song and the chorus that was meant for me
today. God is indeed compared to a rock
in Scripture…a symbol of stability and refuge.
Other hymns have been written with that thought in mind as well. Rock of Ages comes to mind immediately. You may be able to think of others.
Yes, in life we have to deal with
the uncertainties. We have to pivot at
times from where we were heading to go in an entirely different direction. We don’t know what the future holds for
us. Our priority list sometimes gets
upended with a phone call, text, or letter.
We sometimes have to scramble to just make it through the day. I get it.
But for those of us who are
children of God, there is a refuge from the uncertainties and turmoil of
everyday life and living. The God who
sees and knows all is not flustered by the happenings in our lives. He’s not in heaven wondering what He will do
now that things have apparently gone south.
He isn’t calling a meeting of his angels for suggestions on how to
handle the situation.
No, He is very much aware of
past, present, and future, knows exactly what He is doing and why, and is
working to carry out His will & plans even when it seems like nothing is
moving…nothing is happening. Our job is
not to panic, but to trust. And that’s
the theme of the song. As much as it
goes against our grain as human beings, our job is trust instead of panic,
peace instead of chaos, faith instead of doubt.
Some of the Psalms of David
demonstrate this very well. He wrote
several Psalms during his exile and flight from Saul. He sometimes wondered where God was or what
God was doing. But then at the end of
the Psalm, David broke out in praise to his creator and Lord, trusting in his
God.
One of those Psalms may well be
the 28th Psalm. I’ll close
with a portion of it. And this Psalm, by
the way, is one of those places in Scripture that refers to God as a Rock.
To you, Lord, I call; you are
my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent, I
will be like those who go down to the pit.
2Hear my cry for
mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy
Place.
And then David says,
7The Lord is my
strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy, and
with my song I praise him.
Blessings,
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