God Will Take Care of You

God Will Take Care of You

In the Nazarene hymnal, Sing to the Lord, this hymn comes under the heading, God Our Father: His Guidance and Care.

Hearing about God’s care and His guidance in the everyday situations of life is comforting. The thing is, we can depend on that guidance and care in all major and minor events of life, and even at death. This is His promise; and according to the hymn, we can depend on that.

This is a wonderful hymn that I have known all my life. I first heard this hymn when my dad would select it to be sung in church.

I also heard it recorded by a gospel group, I think it was the Rangers Trio, one of my favorites. I got the idea that my trio, a group I sang in during three years of high school and one year of college, could do a good, simple arrangement of it, and it did not take long for us to work it up, and eventually we recorded it.

Words and music to this hymn were both written in 1904; words by Civilla D. Martin, and music by her husband, Walter Stillman Martin. Civilla was a writer of many hymns and gospel songs, and Walter was educated for the ministry at Harvard. He was Baptist for a while, but switched to Disciples of Christ. He eventually travelled the country holding evangelistic meetings.

The opening line encourages us to never dismay no matter what. I’m certain we have all been there. It is not easy to let go of our struggles. Pressures and fears overwhelm us and we get to the place that we don’t know what to do next. The second line tells us with a powerful metaphor to abide beneath His wings of love. Psalm 91:4 speaks of resting in His care. “He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.” The Psalms are full of references about resting in the loving care of God.

The second verse speaks of danger, toil, and how we could very easily fail if we are not careful. The third verse reassures us, saying that He will supply our every need, and nothing we ask will be denied. The context of this second thought is asking for His help during times of stress, and He will never deny meeting our needs during those times. Things may not work out like we want, and will be in God’s good time. The most important thing is that He will use this as a time of growth and maturity for us. He will also help with the details of what we are struggling with. However, His most important priority is us.

I especially love the fourth verse, which talks about His taking care of us in any test, any struggle, and the fact that we can lean on Him. This refers to the moment in the upper room at the last supper, where Christ and the disciples are together, and John was reclining next to Him. Remember that the disciples did not sit at a dinner table like we do, but reclined on the floor. That posture allowed John, the youngest disciple, to lean close to Him. The picture is one of closeness and intimacy. We can lean on Him and he will bear the load with us. He works on us and helps us through the details of our struggle.

The chorus reminds us that He helps us with everything, everyday, no matter what.

One of the problems that frustrates us when faced with trials of this sort -- at least it is for me -- is waiting on God’s timing. We wish He would take care of everything quickly. Instead He treats us as if we can mature during the process -- and we wind up doing just that. We get to the place where we can push fears aside -- that feeling of dread in your gut. The troubling issue is still there, but you can look to Christ for help and He will help you approach it with more confidence than you have had before -- all the while making things happen behind the scenes.

God is good. He cares. I found a brief line in Isaiah 41:10, “...I will help you.” that I have been leaning on that line a lot lately. He will help in ways we cannot imagine. Talk to Him honestly and then learn to relax while He works on you and your issue. You might be surprised at how things turn out.

Thanks be to God.