Charles Albert Tindley, an African American Methodist minister, wrote the hymn “Stand By Me” in 1906. For the last several days the words of that hymn have been rambling around in my mind. There is a rumor rampant among people of faith that God is hanging around just to get us out of our difficulties, to free us from disease, to do whatever we bid God to do. The hymn suggests that the rumor just isn’t so. God doesn’t take whatever is “bad” or “traumatic” or “hurtful” away…God stands by us in the midst of it. I like to say, God “carries” us through whatever kind of “crucifixion” comes our way. Like the Apostle Paul we spend a good deal of our time praying for God “to take it away” and fail to see, to know, and experience the reality of God standing by us and carrying us through whatever is ours to go through.
“When the storms of life are raging…Stand by me.
When the world is tossing me, like a ship upon the sea…Stand by me.
In the midst of tribulation…Stand by me.
When the host of hell assail, and my strength begins to fail…Stand by me.
In the midst of faults and failures…Stand by me.
When I’ve done the best I can, and my friends misunderstand…Stand by me.
In the midst of persecution…Stand by me.
When my foes in war array undertake to stop my way…Stand by me.
When I’m growing old and feeble…Stand by me.
When my life becomes a burden, and I’m nearing chilly Jordan…Stand by me.”
What does it mean to “stand by”? When I stood at my mother’s grave and wept, my two daughter-in-laws came up to me, put their arms around me, and stood there with me in my grief. I shall never forget that moment. Just think, God stands by us like that!
“We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God.
The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito” (C.S. Lewis).
