February 12, 2023 ~ Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
Rev. Beckie Sweet
“I Don’t Know About Tomorrow”
By Ira F. Stanphill, c. 1950
I don’t know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don’t borrow from its sunshine,
For the skies may turn to gray.
I don’t worry o’er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I’ll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.
Refrain:
Many things about tomorrow,
I don’t seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.
Every step is getting brighter,
As the golden stairs I climb;
Every burden’s getting lighter;
Every cloud is silver lined.
There the sun is always shining,
There no tear will dim the eye,
At the ending of the rainbow,
Where the mountains touch the sky.
I don’t know about tomorrow,
It may bring me poverty;
But the one who feeds the sparrow,
Is the one who stands by me.
And the path that be my portion,
May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me,
And I’m covered with His blood.
Read verse 1 & refrain
This popular gospel song by Ira F. Stanphill, expresses the simultaneous feelings of anxiety and hope that many of us have felt and may be feeling right now. Stanphill wrote this hymn when he was at a very low point in his life. His wife, who had been his partner in marriage, Christian evangelism and song-writing, suddenly decided she did not want that kind of a life any longer. She left Stanphill and their son, quickly remarried, and then after a few months perished in an auto accident. Stanphill’s depression and anxiety are very evident in this song’s lyrics, … but so are his hope and faith in an abiding Savior who journeys with him and promises a brighter future.
Read verse 2 & refrain
Many people, many of us, are anxious as the world is changing before us in ways that we never would have anticipated and do not clearly understand. Many of these changes are out of our ability to control. For believers, the uncertainty of the NEAR future, is overshadowed by the blessed assurance that comes with the faith that Jesus knows the long-term future, holds the future, and holds our hands. Jesus is a companion in our suffering and trials, and will walk with us all the way to that promised inheritance, of which Peter wrote.
The audience of I Peter seems to have needed these same assurances. While we may not know all of the details of their suffering, it is clear that their situation was challenging their faith. In these few verses of scripture, we are given a glimpse of the hearer’s past, present, and future. The writer asserts that the hearers had been given a new birth and a living hope as they heard the gospel message in the past. Their future inheritance is being protected by the power of God, even if now, in the present, they suffer for a little while. Peter asserts that their past and present trials should serve to strengthen their faith. This is not to say that suffering is necessary to produce genuine faith. It is simply an acknowledgement that trials can reveal the beauty of one’s faith, just as fire reveals the beauty of gold.
For the readers of I Peter, then and now, past and present, the way to bring the end of suffering was accomplished in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The hope of the resurrection is a living hope. The living hope is made possible through the new birth that has been given to the believer through the mercy of God.
What is a new birth? Whether it is the life that bursts forth in the spring as the flowers bloom and the trees blossom, or as a mother delivering a child, birthing elucidates an entanglement with life and death, old and new, perishable and imperishable. And in the midst of that entanglement, we as humans recognize that the veil between life and death at times is amazingly resilient, and at other times shockingly fragile and thin. This is even true with a spiritual new birth!
This particular scripture passage is traditionally heard at two times: the Sunday after the celebration of Easter ~ Jesus’ resurrection from the dead; and, at funerals or memorial services. The entanglement of life and death is miraculous in life and fragile in death. In both situations, it is hope that can animate us and allow us to seek the light in darkness, to hold onto what we know to be true even when all seems questionable. Hope is kept alive by nurturing it; it is sustained by looking beyond tomorrow to the promised future.
Remember the definition found in Hebrews 11:1? “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” In faith, we have the vision to see the promise of the inheritance from God. So, how do we prepare for that inheritance? Keep the faith and stand firm in hope.
Read Verse 3 and refrain:
I don’t know about tomorrow,
It may bring me poverty;
But the one who feeds the sparrow,
Is the one who stands by me.
And the path that be my portion,
May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me,
And I’m covered with His blood.
Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow, And I know who holds my hand.