What to write about at a time such as this? With the spectre of coronavirus seemingly becoming more of a threat with every passing day, it feels almost incongruous to post on many of the themes traditionally associated with Lent. Instead then, today I’m posting words from one of my many hymns, this one, I’m told, being a favourite of many. I wrote it with the tune ‘Jerusalem the golden’ in mind, though you’ll find in the hymnbook Hymns Old and New set to a different tune by composer Susie Hare. Here is a reminder, when days are touched with sadness, that, whatever we are called to face, however demanding life may become, we are not left to face it alone.
When days are touched with sadness
and nights are filled with pain;
when every waking moment
your faith is under strain;
when burdens weigh upon you
that seem too hard to bear;
remember then the promise
of Jesus, ‘I’ll be there.’
When all around forsake you
and you feel on your own;
when those you thought most loyal
have taken wings and flown;
when dreams like bruised and broken
and no one sheds a tear;
remember then the promise
of Jesus, ‘I’ll be there.’
When life is dark with shadows,
its sparkle long since gone;
when winter’s chill encroaches
where summer sun once shone;
when days that gleamed so brightly
are tarnished now with care;
remember then the promise
of Jesus, ‘I’ll be there.’
When everything you hoped for
lies trampled in the dust;
when there seems nothing solid
in which to put your trust;
when worry holds you captive –
a slave to every fear;
remember then the promise
of Jesus, ‘I am here.’