HOLD ON:

VERSE1:

Someone told me years ago that this is gonna hurt 
this life that we’re living drags you through the dirt
Sometimes all we can do is get up on our knees 
and thank the Maker up above for the air that we breathe

CHORUS:

Sometimes all we can do is hold on, sometimes all you can do is stay strong
Fight through every battle, sing along to this song, sometimes all we can do is hold on…hold on 

VERSE 2:

Some days are just impossible and out of our control
There are twists and turns, cuts and burns along this lonely road
Maybe we think we’re broken, way beyond repair
now wait a minute just hold on there’s always Someone there

CHORUS:

Sometimes all we can do is hold on, sometimes all you can do is stay strong
Fight through every battle, sing along to this song, sometimes all we can do is hold on

BRIDGE:

Don’t stop the world, keep holding on, there’s a million little reasons hope isn’t lost
Don’t stop the world, keep holding on, and the biggest one is hanging up on that cross

CHORUS:

Sometimes all we can do is hold on, sometimes all you can do is stay strong
Fight through every battle, sing along to this song, sometimes all we can do is hold on…hold on

Don’t stop the world, keep holding on, when you feel like giving up…hold on.

__________________________________

I remember I wrote this song thinking that a Country artist would cover it.  I didn’t have it in mind for this album at all.  I liked the lyric and the message but didn’t quite know how it would work as an arrangement.

The idea….to just hold on…is a simple one.  An idea that comes up often in life.  An idea that comes up often on our journeys.

Sometimes the fast paced part of life or the mundane part of life get in the way of our goals in life.  Sometimes we just can’t seem to get out of our own way and sometimes we just feel like letting go and just asking the world to stop for a minute so that we can get off.

Let’s walk through the lyric on this one because there are so many points that I want to make about all of this.

Right at the top of verse 1 we have the singer saying:

Someone told me years ago that this is gonna hurt 

this life that we’re living drags you through the dirt

Sometimes all we can do is get up on our knees 

and thank the Maker up above for the air that we breathe

Now…this comes from personal experience.  I remember growing up that my grandparents and my parents would tell me that “life is hard”.  I say it to my kids and they’ll probably say it to their kids.

There’s no easy way to put this….life is hard.  It’s not an easy walk.  But it’s such a rewarding one.

We get dragged through the dirt, we get messy, we get broken, we get hurt.  We sometimes feel like no one is there.  We feel like no one could ever relate to what we’re going through or what we’re feeling.

And yet…there is.

When I was a kid I had a great church.  A church where everyone knew each other and where everyone got together on Sundays for lunches and dinners.  It was pretty idyllic.

As a kid growing up in this church, we knew the struggles and the hurts that were flowing through the congregation.  We knew when folks needed help and were able to walk with them through the situation.

It’s different now but kind of still the same.   I like to think that our Community here is a bit of an online church.  A place where we can share cares and concerns and where real action can take place.

I’ve seen friendships built inside of our Community and I’ve seen people lean on others to get through the day or the week.  It’s incredible.

Because sometimes when we feel like giving up, all we can really do is hold on.

That’s the chorus of this song:

Sometimes all we can do is hold on, sometimes all you can do is stay strong

Fight through every battle, sing along to this song, sometimes all we can do is hold on

The battles that we face each day are sometimes more difficult than we could ever imagine.  More than we could ever endure.  But...Jesus.

What does the Bible say about our struggles and about our battles?

James 1:2-4 says this, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

James regarded trials as inevitable. He said when, not if,  you will fall into various trials.  At the same time trials are occasions for joy, not discouraged resignation. We can count it all joy in the midst of trials because they are used to produce patience.

Moffatt translated James 1:2 as, Greet it as pure joy, pointing out a play on words between the greetings at the end of James 1:1 and a similar word used to start James 1:2.  It is “an attempt to bring out the play on words in the original, where the courteous greeting is echoed by joy.”

Patience is the ancient Greek word hupomone. This word does not describe a passive waiting but an active endurance. 

It isn’t so much the quality of patience that helps you sit quietly in the doctor’s waiting room, as it is the quality of patience that helps you finish a marathon.

The ancient Greek word hupomone comes from hupo (under) and meno (to stay, abide, remain). At its root, it means to remain under. It has the picture of someone under a heavy load and choosing to stay there instead of trying to escape. 

The philosopher Philo called hupomone “the queen of virtues.” The Greek commentator Oesterley said this word patience described “the frame of mind which endures.”

You see, faith is tested through trials, not produced by trials. Trials reveal what faith we do have; not because God doesn’t know how much faith we have, but so that our faith will be evident to ourselves and to those around us.

We notice that it is faith that is tested, and it shows that faith is important and precious – because only precious things are tested so thoroughly. 

“Faith is as vital to salvation as the heart is vital to the body: hence the javelins of the enemy are mainly aimed at this essential grace.” (Spurgeon)

If trials do not produce faith, what does? Romans 10:17 tells us “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  Supernaturally, faith is built in us as we hear, understand, and trust in God’s word.

James did not want anyone to think that God sends trials to break down or destroy our faith.

Trials don’t produce faith, but when trials are received with faith, it produces patience. Yet patience is not inevitably produced in times of trial. If difficulties are received in unbelief and grumbling, trials can produce bitterness and discouragement. This is why James exhorted us to count it all joy. Counting it all joy is faith’s response to a time of trial.

Hiebert says this, “It is occasionally asserted that James asks his readers to enjoy their trials… He did not say that they must feel it all joy, or that trials are all joy.”

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 

The work of patient endurance comes slowly and must be allowed to have full bloom. Patient endurance is a mark of the person who is perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Another thought on patience.  Some think that the term comes from the world of sacrifice, where only a potential sacrificial animal that was judged to be perfect and complete, lacking nothing was fit to offer God. It meant that the animal had been tested and approved.

Almost like how we are tested in the trials.

Spurgeon says this, “The natural tendency of trouble is not to sanctify, but to induce sin. A man is very apt to become unbelieving under affliction: that is a sin. He is apt to murmur against God under it: that is a sin. He is apt to put forth his hand to some ill way of escaping from his difficulty: and that would be sin. Hence we are taught to pray, ‘Lead us not into temptation; because trial has in itself a measure of temptation’; and if it were not neutralized by abundant grace it would bear us towards sin.” 

Yet, trials can prove a wonderful work of God in us. Spurgeon continues…

“I have looked back to times of trial with a kind of longing, not to have them return, but to feel the strength of God as I have felt it then, to feel the power of faith, as I have felt it then, to hang upon God’s powerful arm as I hung upon it then, and to see God at work as I saw him then.”

Sometimes all we can do is hold on.

Romans 5:3-5 says this, “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Paul anticipates the accusation that he is too “pie in the sky,” that glory for the Christian applies only to the sweet bye-and-bye. Paul replies, “I know we have many tribulations now but we glory in those also.”

Paul isn’t spinning out spiritual platitudes. First, he uses strong words. Tribulation is “a strong term. It does not refer to minor inconveniences, but to real hardships”. Second, Paul lived a life full of tribulation. Paul knew the truth of this better than most anyone.

Then he goes on to say knowing that tribulation produces perseverance. We can glory in tribulations.  Other words to put here would be our stresses, our fears, our anxiety, our worries because they are the occasion to produce perseverance and endurance.

A runner must be stressed to gain endurance. Sailors must go to sea. Soldiers go to battle. For the Christian, tribulation is just part of our Christian life. We should not desire or hope for a tribulation-free Christian life, especially because of these reasons:

1. God uses tribulation wonderfully in our lives.
2. God knows how much tribulation we can take, and He carefully measures the tribulation we face.
3. Those who are not Christians face tribulation also.

Spurgeon says this, “A Christian man should be willing to be tried; he should be pleased to let his religion be put to the test. ‘There,’ says he, ‘hammer away if you like.’ Do you want to be carried to heaven on a feather bed?”

Smith says this, “I’ve heard people advise others against praying for patience because God will then send them tribulations. If that’s the way patience comes then, ‘God, bring on the troubles.’ I need patience!”

Another quote from Spurgeon:

“‘Tribulation worketh patience,’ says the apostle. Naturally it is not so. Tribulation worketh impatience, and impatience misses the fruit of experience, and sours into hopelessness. Ask many who have buried a dear child, or have lost their wealth, or have suffered pain of body, and they will tell you that the natural result of affliction is to produce irritation against providence, rebellion against God, questioning, unbelief, petulance, and all sorts of evils. But what a wonderful alteration takes place when the heart is renewed by the Holy Spirit!”

So then Paul continues saying that trials produce perseverance, perseverance produces character; and character, hope.

This is a chain of Christian growth and maturity. One virtue builds upon another as we grow in the pattern and reflection of Jesus.

Most every Christian wants to develop character and have more hope. These qualities spring out of perseverance, which comes through tribulation. We may wish to have better character and more hope without starting with tribulation, but that isn’t God’s pattern and plan.

Someone once said, “I would rather have God just sprinkle perseverance and character and hope on me as I sleep. I could wake up a much better Christian! But that isn’t God’s plan for me or for any Christian.”

Therefore we say – soberly, reverently – we say about tribulation, “Lord, bring it on. I know you love me and carefully measure every trial and have a loving purpose to accomplish in every tribulation. Lord, I won’t seek trials and search out tribulation, but I won’t despise them or lose hope when they come. I trust Your love in everything You allow.”

But then Paul speaks about hope….

He says, “now hope does not disappoint.”  The hope that tribulation builds in us is not a hope that will be disappointed. We are assured of this because God has proved His intention to complete His work in us – the proof being the love of God… poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

The love of God has been poured out in our hearts.  Every Christian should have some experience of this, to have a deep inner awareness of God’s love for us.

The Apostle Paul’s logical arguments in Romans are devastating but the Book of Romans doesn’t lack emotion or passionate experiences with God. Paul wants us to think the right thoughts about God, but he also wants us to have the right experience with God – the love of God… poured out in our hearts.

God’s love isn’t given to us in a trickle, it is poured out in our hearts. Some Christians live as if it was only a trickle but God wants us to know the outpouring of His love.

The Holy Spirit who was given to us.  This is how God’s love is communicated – through the Holy Spirit. A lack of awareness of God’s love can often be credited to a failure to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit and to walk in the Spirit.

Spurgeon says this, “The love of God is like light to a blind eye until the Holy Ghost opens that eye… may the Holy Spirit now be here in each one of us, to shed abroad the love of God in our hearts.”

So..then we get to the bridge.

Don’t stop the world, keep holding on, there’s a million little reasons hope isn’t lost

Don’t stop the world, keep holding on, and the biggest one is hanging up on that cross

In the midst of my travels, I meet and talk to quite a few folks who have beaten many debilitating diseases and addictions.  I’ve also chatted with folks who have struggled with suicidal thoughts and attempted suicides.  

I think that’s what prompted me to write this bridge.

You see, there’s this beauty in life.  This beauty that comes from your life in the lives of others.  If we stop that beauty, there will be a piece missing.  It’s almost like we’re all part of this giant puzzle.  We walk with each other and fit into each other’s lives.

Hope isn’t lost.

There’s a million little reasons hope isn’t lost and the biggest one is hanging up on that cross

The love and hope that Jesus provides is bigger than anything we could ever imagine.

Bigger than your worries.

Bigger than your stress.

Bigger than your fears.

Bigger than your anxiety.

Bigger than your thoughts of loneliness.

Bigger than your hurt.

Bigger than your brokenness.

His love is bigger, stronger and more powerful than anything we could ever imagine.  And He wants us to experience it every day.

So yes.  Somedays are just impossible and out of our control.  There are twists and turns and cuts and burns along this lonely road.

And maybe you think you’re broken, way beyond repair.

But wait a minute, just hold on.  There’s always someone there.

Jesus.   Our reason to hold on.

DAYLIGHT:

VERSE1:

I can see the fear in your eyes, hear the tremble in your voice
These little changes steal away the life we used to enjoy
I can’t hold your hand like I want to, I feel like I’m lost in a maze
I’m waiting to wake up from this dream but I can ‘t find away, then I see in the darkness a splinter of light

CHORUS:

‘cause daylight is coming again and this time like all times will end
I can see it shine there’s hope around the bend, ‘cause daylight is coming again

VERSE 2:

When the skies up ahead are hazy it’s hard to have faith when I’m blind
But You’re holding on and holding tight as the morning comes alive
You’re a Savior beyond the shadows holding me in Your arms
A shelter for me as I fight every battle, a haven from the harm, and I know in the darkness You are my sight

CHORUS:

‘cause daylight is coming again and this time like all times will end
I can see it shine there’s hope around the bend, ‘cause daylight is coming again

Daylight is coming

BRIDGE:

My God my God will deliver me from the jaws of defeat
My soul my soul will be lifted high up on the highest peak
My hope my hope will shine like the sun as it rises in the east
My eyes my eyes will be lifted high like the faith inside of me

CHORUS:

‘cause daylight is coming again and this time like all times will end
I can see it shine there’s hope around the bend, ‘cause daylight is coming again
Daylight is coming

__________________________________

This song was the song that started this album.  It was the first song that I wrote during the pandemic in 2020.   Things were changing, my mind was changing and my heart was changing.

Everyone was scared…everyone was losing hope for a minute and questions were everywhere.

I remember that when the pandemic started I pivoted to live-streaming almost every night of the week. We were on 5 - 6 nights during some weeks.  I got a lot of comments about how those live-streams were incredibly important to people.  How they helped them get through the pandemic.

I never thought that God would use them in that way but…He did.  As He always does.  He uses things that we think are ordinary or mundane and He makes them extraordinary.

So..maybe 6 months in I started working on this song…could have been sooner.  But the thought was that even though things looked pretty bleak and things kept getting worse…there was still this thread of hope being woven through the tapestry of our lives.

God was moving.  

But…He was moving in ways that people didn’t think He would move.  Hearts were being drawn closer to Him because questions were coming out of the woodwork and uncertainty seemed to trump everything else.

But…daylight.  Hope.  Jesus.

I remember leaning deeply into Psalm 91.  Let me read it here:

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High  will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge;  his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,  so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;  I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

In the last lines of the psalm, God spoke personal and wonderful blessings over the one who loves and knows Him:

• The blessing of His presence: I will be with him in trouble.
• The blessing of His protection: I will deliver him.
• The blessing of His promotion: I will…honor him.
• The blessing of His prosperity: With long life I will satisfy him.
• The blessing of His preservation: And show him My salvation.

These things point us to the daylight.

God’s presence, His protection, his promotion, His prosperity and His preservation. God is never not watching over us and guiding us closer and closer to the light that is Him.

Light is the foundation of all of this.  We need light.  We need it to see, to work, to read, to eat, to live, to drink.  God is the source of all light.  There is no exception.

In the midst of that time, light was hard to find.  We live down the street from a hospital and a friend of mine worked there.  He said that he was loading bodies out by the dozens each day during the peak of the pandemic. News like that does not help when we are trying to find light in the midst of the darkness.

But…I love the line. “And I see in the darkness a splinter of light.”

In the midst of the darkness, in the midst of the storm, in the midst of the worry, fear, pain, hurt, stress and hopelessness…a splinter of light shines.  

This goes way beyond the pandemic and the sadness and uncertainty that it brought.  This goes deep into our daily walk with Jesus.

As we talked about in Hold On, there are some days that just seem impossible.  Yes…some days truly are….

But…sometimes we see a splinter of light in the midst of the darkness.  Sometimes we see Jesus move….just a little.  We see Him use a song, a quote, a person, a friend, a live-stream.   We see Him use unconventional things to shine His light into our world.

John 8:12 says this, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus, being the light of the world, brings light to those who follow Him. When we follow Him, we stay in the light and do not walk in darkness.

“If a man could travel so fast as always to follow the sun, of course he would always be in the light. If the day should ever come when the speed of the railway shall be equal to the speed of the world’s motion, then a man may so live as to never lose the light. Now he that follows Christ shall never walk in darkness.” (Spurgeon)

The Hebrew Scriptures often spoke of God’s Word as light.

•  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path - Psalm 119:105
•  Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me - Psalm 43:3

Since Jesus is the Word as stated in John 1:1, it makes perfect sense that He is also the light.

So in essence, when we say in this song…daylight is coming again…we are really saying Jesus is coming again.

Now..here’s another interesting way to look at this.

Matthew 5:14-16 says this, ““You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Jesus gives the Christian both a great compliment and a great responsibility when He says that we are the light of the world, because He claimed that title for Himself as He walked this earth.

So…wait.  We are the light?  I thought Jesus was the light.

He is…but…we are also here to carry that light. To bring that light to others and to let that light shine every day.   We are called to be the love of Jesus.  We are called to live the love of Jesus.  We are called to be the light of Jesus.  We are called to bring that light into the world.

We are the daylight.  We are the light in someone else’s darkness.  We are the light that pulls them out of the darkness.

Why?  Because we are shining Jesus’ light into that darkness.

Light of the world means that we are not only light-receivers, but also light-givers. We must have a greater concern than only ourselves, and we cannot live only to ourselves; we must have someone to shine to, and do so lovingly.

“This title had been given by the Jews to certain of their eminent Rabbis. With great pomposity they spoke of Rabbi Judah, or Rabbi Jochanan, as the lamps of the universe, the lights of the world. It must have sounded strangely in the ears of the Scribes and Pharisees to hear that same title, in all soberness, applied to a few bronzed-faced and horny-handed peasants and fishermen, who had become disciples of Jesus.” (Spurgeon)

Jesus never challenged us to become salt or light. He simply said that we are – and we are either fulfilling or failing that given responsibility.

“Poor world, poor world, it is dark, and gropes in midnight, and it cannot get light except it receives it through us!…To be the light of the world surrounds life with the most stupendous responsibilities, and so invests it with the most solemn dignity. Hear this, you humble men and women, you who have made no figure in society, you are the light of the world. If you burn dimly, dim is the world’s light, and dense its darkness.” (Spurgeon)

We are to burn brightly.  Always. 

We are the light that Jesus brings to the world.  We are to live the love.  To live His love daily.

The purpose of light is to illuminate and expose what is there. Therefore light must be exposed before it is of any use – if it is hidden under a basket, it is no longer useful.

 “Christ knew that there would be strong temptation for the men that had it in them to be lights to hide their light. It would draw the world’s attention to them, and so expose them to the ill will of such as hate the light.” (Bruce)

 “Christ never contemplated the production of secret Christians, – Christians whose virtues would never be displayed..” (Spurgeon)

The idea of a lampstand gives the sense that we are to be intentional about letting this light shine. Even as lamps are placed higher so their light can be more effective, we should look for ways to let our light shine in greater and broader ways.

“The object of our shining is not that men may see how good we are, nor even see us at all, but that they may see grace in us and God in us, and cry, ‘What a Father these people must have.’ (Spurgeon)

My God my God will deliver me from the jaws of defeat

My soul my soul will be lifted high up on the highest peak

My hope my hope will shine like the sun as it rises in the east

My eyes my eyes will be lifted high like the faith inside of me

God lifts us so that we can lift others.  God gives us strength so that we can take that strength and give it to others.  God gives us light so that we can take that light and shine it on others.

Today.  You are the light.  Be the light of Jesus.  

Daylight is coming again….Jesus is here.