In September of 1979, our family was living on the Gulf Coast, in a city south of Mobile, AL where my dad preached. It was there that I experienced a hurricane. Hurricane Frederic was a category 4 hurricane that was the most expensive hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast, at that time, with $2.3 billion worth of damages. There were only 5 deaths attributed to the hurricane but it did a lot of damage.
Mosie Lister passed away two years ago. He was born in Georgia in 1921. He was a Baptist preacher and wrote several songs, including “Where No One Stands Alone” and “He Knows Just What I Need” as well as the song for our focus now: “’Til the Storm Passes By.”
GOD IS PRESENT – VERSE 1:
In the dark of the midnight, have I oft hid my face, While the storm howls above me, and there’s no hiding place. ‘Mid the crash of the thunder, precious Lord, hear my cry; Keep me safe ’til the storm passes by.
When the storms of life hit, we often want to hide our faces, don’t we? We try to hide from the waves of life by getting addicted to alcohol, drugs, or some other types of addictions. Those are ways that many people try to hide their faces from the waves of life. The problem is, though, that when you get sober, the problems are still there. Getting drunk doesn’t solve the problems. (In fact, it is likely to add to your problems.) Running away from problems do not solve the problems. But calling out to God for help can.
The promise that we have in Hebrews 13:5 – that God will never fail us or forsake us, which is actually a quotation from Deuteronomy 31:6, 8 – is a promise that literally runs through the whole Bible for God’s faithful children.
“Till the storm passes by,” remember that the Lord is present with you in the storm.
TOMORROW YOU’LL RISE – VERSE 2:
The words for verse 2: Many times Satan whispered, “There is no need to try, for there’s no end of sorrow, there’s no hope by and by.” But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I’ll rise Where the storms never darken the skies.
The focus of this verse is Satan’s temptation to get us to give up hope. “There is no need to try,” Satan says. “There is no end of sorrow,” Satan says. “There is no hope by and by,” Satan says.
But when you know that the Lord is present in your life, then you also know that “tomorrow,” you’ll rise and things will be over.
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Yes, all troubles have an end. They really do. Problems will run their course and eventually it will be all over. If not in this life, eventually they’ll all be over in the next life. So what we have to do when we are being knocked down by the waves of life is to cast our anchor into Jesus Christ and wait out the storm. It will pass (Heb. 6:18).
But we also have the promise that we need to hold to which Paul gives us in Romans 8:28. We can’t always see God working despite our waves of life. When Joseph was in prison, for two full years, he did not know what God had in store for him. He just knew God was present and I presume he knew something was going to get better. Eventually, it did. God caused things in Joseph’s life to work together for good, because Joseph loved God.
HEAVEN IS OUR DESTINATION – VERSE 3:
The words: When the long night has ended and the storms come no more, Let me stand in Thy presence on that bright, peaceful shore. In that land where the tempest never comes, Lord may I dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.
The focus here is on looking forward to heaven. You know, it is so easy to get our eyes off of heaven. As I write this, I am coming off a week-long vacation with my family. There is no one I would rather spend time with than my family. We had so many laughs, so many laughs until we cried. But, to be honest, life is not about my family. It shouldn’t be, anyway. Life is about God. It is about Jesus Christ. Everything in life that happens to me is designed to bring about one purpose: to get me prepared to spend eternity with God in heaven. That’s it.
Life should be all about heaven. Heaven is our destination. The long night that I might endure in this life? God is using it to prepare me for heaven. I may not know the answers to all the questions we have: “Why?” “How?” But, I know that God is going to bring all things together for my good, because heaven is God’s goal for me. And that long night is going to end, one day. The storms will be no more, one day (see 2 Cor. 4:16-18).
To complete the study of our song, consider the chorus: ’Til the storm passes over, ’til the thunder sounds no more, ’Til the clouds roll forever from the sky, Hold me fast (tightly), let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand. Keep me safe ‘til the storm passes by.
There was an eight-year-old little boy who endured a hurricane in 1979. He did so by knowing that Mom and Dad and Grandpa and Grandma were taking care of things. He did so by reading his Spider-man comic book and just not worrying about the storm outside. Eventually the storm passed over and it was finished.
When you and I feel the waves of life flowing over us, we need to remember that God is present with us. Tomorrow will be another day. And, heaven is our destiny.
–Paul Holland
