He Keeps Me Singing

Wow! It was so good to be in church Sunday and singing with the congregation and with our ensemble. We sang all five verses of one of my favorite hymns, “He Keeps Me Singing.” As I was sitting there afterwards, I pulled my phone out and googled the history of the hymn. The story behind the hymn took my breath away.

The hymn is written by Luther B. Bridgers. He served as an evangelist in the South and in mission work in Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Russia. He pastored in Georgia and North Carolina before retiring in 1945 in Gainesville, Georgia.  A preacher, Luther Bridges, was born in 1884, he married Sarah Veatch and they had three sons. During his time as a pastor, sometime around 1910 he wrote the hymn, “He Keeps Me Singing.” Pastor Bridges accepted an invitation to minister at a conference in Kentucky in the year 1911, so he left his family in the care of his father-in-law and made the trip to Kentucky. There, he experienced two wonderful weeks of ministry. The last service closed with great joy and he was excited to be called to the telephone. He couldn’t wait to tell his wife about all the blessings. 

But it wasn’t her voice on that long distance line. He listened in silence to the news that a fire had burned down the house of his father-in-law and his wife and all three of his sons had died in the blaze.

I can’t imagine his grief and the devastation he felt. I don’t believe he thought he would ever have to deal with what he described in verse 3. “Though sometimes He leads through waters deep, Trials fall across the way, Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep, See His footprints all the way.” The path he had to follow was rough and very steep, yet his faith never wavered. He depended on his Heavenly father to guide him through the sadness.

Just like Luther B. Bridgers, we never thought we would be living in a world where we have to wear masks, aren’t comfortable in restaurants, meetings are virtual and sports are cancelled. Is our faith strong enough to do as he did and rely on our heavenly Father to get us through the trials that have fallen across our way? Frankly, some days are easier than others. But know that He can be our life raft when the waters are deep. Just focus on 1 Peter 5:7. “Cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you.”

Tina

HYMN LYRICS:

There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,
In all of life’s ebb and flow.

Refrain

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest Name I know,
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.

All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,
Discord filled my heart with pain,
Jesus swept across the broken strings,
Stirred the slumbering chords again.

Refrain

Feasting on the riches of His grace,
Resting ’neath His sheltering wing,
Always looking on His smiling face,
That is why I shout and sing.

Refrain

Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,
Trials fall across the way,
Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep,
See His footprints all the way.

Refrain

Soon He’s coming back to welcome me,
Far beyond the starry sky;
I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown,
I shall reign with Him on high.