“You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” John 13:7
Today, I ran across the old hymn entitled “When Morning Comes.” This song is included in a hymnal called Favorite Songs and Hymns which was published in 1939. During the years of my childhood, quite often my dad would sit down at the piano with this hymnal and begin playing. After a bit of a “warm up”, he would ask my mother, my brothers, and myself to join him for a time of singing some of the great gospel hymns from this book. Needless to say, these sweet memories are very special to me.
The song, “When Morning Comes” also took me back to the little country church we attended when I was a child. On an annual basis, the church sponsored an event called “all day singing and dinner on the ground.” “Dinner” was really lunch! To this day, I remember the delicious food! My mother’s fried chicken never lasted long, nor did the wonderful banana pudding brought by another church member. I simply could not wait to consume that heavenly manna! My mouth watered all the way to the church just thinking about it! After the outdoor meal, everyone would gather inside the church again, usually with the men sitting on one side and the women and children on the other. Then for a few hours, we would do nothing but sing. I can still hear the men with their rich baritone and deep bass voices, and the women singing soprano and alto to compliment the others. I suspect that we children sang and made a “joyful noise unto the Lord.” Perhaps God was smiling down upon this little “choir” of country people at that very moment. According to the verse of scripture found in Zephaniah 3:17, I am thinking that He was also singing along with us!!
The words to “When Morning Comes” serve as a reminder to us that God is always with us to bring comfort when we face trials and sorrows in our lives. Sometimes we do not understand why bad things happen to us and our loved ones, but we can take comfort in the fact that God knows the reason.
Whatever happens, God still loves us. He will give us strength and courage to face the trials of this life and an unyielding confidence of the life to come, when we will see Jesus face to face. If you have never heard the song below, simply let the words sink into your heart. Be assured that we will understand it better by and by.
When Morning Comes
Trials dark on every hand, and we cannot understand
All the ways that God would lead us to that blessed promised land
But he’ll guide us with his eye, and we’ll follow ’till we die
We will understand it better by and by
Chorus:
By and by, when the morning comes
When the saints of God are gathered home
We will tell the story we’ve overcome
We will understand it better by and by
Temptations, hidden snares often take us unawares
And our hearts are made to bleed for some thoughtless word or deed
And we wonder why the test when we try to do our best
But we’ll understand it by and by
Chorus:
By and by, when the morning comes
When the saints of God are gathered home
We will tell the story we’ve overcome
We will understand it better by and by
Charles Albert Tindley, 1851-1933
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