“Thus says the Lord: “In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’” Isaiah 49:8-9a ESV
Reflection: how can we keep smiling when the world seems to be breaking apart from evil?
I was awakened in the middle of the night last night with a song playing in my mind called “You ask me why”, by gospel singer / songwriter Chuck Girard. A bit strange, I thought, as I really haven’t really been listening to his music much since the late 70s or early 80s. Of course, with this song playing in my mind so suddenly, I not only had to hear the recording again, but to also carefully listen to the lyrics. And I also took some time to read up on this famous gospel singer, who many consider to be the father of Christian Contemporary Music. I was at first sad to learn that he somewhat recently had passed away, but then learned more about the huge legacy he had left behind including many songs that had a big impact on me over the years. You might have heard of his songs, like “Sometimes Alleluia”, “Lay Your Burden Down”, and “Quiet Hour”. There is just something very pure and profound about Chuck’s music. Something we can easily resonate with. But why was this particular song, “You ask me why”, stuck in my mind? Let’s read the lyrics.
You ask me why I keep on smilin’, When all the world’s in such a mess, And I just have to say, That there is just one way, To find true, lasting happiness
You ask me how I keep my head together, When this old world is tumbling down, I think you’ve heard the talk, The talk about the Solid Rock, He’ll keep your feet right on the ground
People try so hard to find, A way to gain some peace of mind, And they try this, And they try that
People scream out to be free, They cry for love and liberty, Yeah, the words of God could free them, If they’d only stop to hear
Peoplе try so hard to find, A way to gain some peace of mind, And thеy try this, And they try that
People scream out to be free, They cry for love and liberty, Yeah, the words of God could free them, If they’d only take the time to hear
You ask me how I keep on smilin’, When this world looks like it’s comin’ to an end, Though these be final days, When the Light comes through the haze, A bright new world will just begin
For those of us who lived through the 60s and 70s, we remember that the world back then was in a mess, concerns over the spread of communism, nuclear wars, oil and economic crisis, political corruption, and, of course, the climate among other things. But, now 50 years later, I don’t think we made much progress in those areas, nor is the world in a better place. We can probably argue that it might even be worse. And, we still see people, as Chuck said, try so hard to find A way to gain some peace of mind, And thеy try this, And they try that. People scream out to be free, They cry for love and liberty. Nothing has really changed from that perspective either, as many look in the wrong places for love and liberty. But, the good news is that the gospel of Jesus Christ is also still the same, the words of God could free them, If they’d only stop to hear.
We read in today’s focus verse the gospel message that even Isaiah saw and wrote about so long ago, “In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’” Isaiah 49:8b-9a ESV. The message of salvation, pointing towards Jesus Christ, as we remember His life, His death and resurrection especially during Passover. A message for us about freedom, from the slavery of sin, from darkness into light, from death to life. A message of how God demonstrated His love for us, through His sacrifice.
You ask me why I keep on smiling, with all the war mongers and fighting that never ends, the political corruption and continuous lies on full display, the economic hardship for the people, I just point to the good news of Jesus Christ. He is the only one that can save us from this dying world. He made it possible for us to be free, to walk out of the prison of sin, out of darkness into His marvelous light. He is the only one who offers us forgiveness, atonement for our sins. We cannot add anything to His work. We just have to accept and receive it.
Our time is precious.
We have today; we do not even have tomorrow. Let’s not waste our time doing frivolous things. Let’s be bold and share the gospel of Christ, to this dying world. Tell someone you meet today, who might be in desperate need of the good news of Jesus Christ. And keep on smiling, as we know soon a bright new heaven and earth will just begin.
