God Leads His Children Along
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song.
“… no believer has cause to cover his face, in any spot where his dear Lord sees fit to bid him dwell.” Anna Warner – taken from her biography, Susan Warner (pub. 1909)
Miss Warner’s words could aptly be applied to the widow of hymnwriter, George A. Young.
In the late 19th century, Mr. Young, a carpenter and preacher, served the Lord in rural, impoverished communities. Despite hardships, George was able to build a small house for his family. What joy they must have felt living in their own humble dwelling.
But not everyone appreciated the ministry of Mr. and Mrs. Young. One day, while the Youngs were away conducting meetings, “haters of good” (2 Timothy 3:3) burned their home to the ground. The Young family returned to a mystery that tries the faith of men. Their home lay in smoldering ashes.
Isaiah 61:3 declares, God will give all who mourn … beauty for ashes. God’s presence became very real to George during that time, for he soon penned the words to a hymn that has blessed and encouraged fainting saints for well over a century.
God Leads His Children Along (Excerpts)
In shady, green pastures so rich and so sweet
Where the water's cool flow bathes the weary one's feet
Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright
Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night
Though sorrows befall us and Satan oppose
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes
(Refrain)
Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.
Years after Mr. Young’s death, Hador Lillenas, a renowned hymnwriter himself, having a great fondness of the hymn made inquiries as to the welfare of Mr. Young’s widow. He discovered that Mrs. Young was living in a poorhouse. He set out to visit her.
The interview had a profound effect on Lillenas. In an environment of dark hopelessness, he found Mrs. Young rejoicing that God had seen fit to place her there!
“Dr. Lillenas,” she said, “God led me here. I’m so glad He did, for you know, about every month someone comes into this place to spend the rest of their days. So many of them don’t know my Jesus. I’m having the time of my life introducing them to Jesus. Dr. Lillenas, isn’t it wonderful how God leads!”
The widow of George A. Young felt no cause to cover her face in the spot where her dear Lord had seen fit to bid her dwell. Through the decades, she had learned to trust God's leading.
We, too, must learn that we can trust our Father's leading. We will not be exempt from the mysteries that will try our faith, yet we will see evidence of the presence of God. He will bring beauty out of ashes. And He will, if we trust Him to do so, give us a song.