What would
a transplanted Englishman-Irishman ponder after fifty-some decades of living and seeing
a few twists and turns in his path? That would have been a sensible question to
ask James Rowe in 1922, but maybe he already answered that query with the words
he penned in “God Holds the Future in His Hands”. Perhaps while he was in Colonie,
New York (where James may have lived, or maybe nearby, see its seal here),
James might have responded when asked that there’s lots of valleys, but also
some peaks. And what of the years to come – are you anxious? What James Rowe
would have said about the oncoming years should be pretty apparent, given how
he titled this song. ‘Don’t fret, He’s got this!’ That would be James’ short riposte
or contemporary rewording of his song title. If your future is looming, rather
than materializing like a beautiful sunrise, what might make you see things
differently, the way James did?
James Rowe
was 57 when ‘God Holds the Future…’ was written in 1922, and had been in plenty
of different places and vocational situations, allowing him to voice an opinion
with some confidence about what lay ahead. Or, more precisely, James felt assured
about who is there in the future. His first verse reflects the
sense that he’d seen plenty of adverse times, since he writes of ‘dread’, ‘burdens’,
‘sinking sands’, and ‘thorns’. Had James struggled, before leaving his homeland
(Ireland; he was born in England) and later working for the railroad and a humane society in New York state,
prior to making song-writing and music-publishing his life’s work? Whatever had
transpired in Rowe’s ventures, he had come to terms with his life’s import in
1922. Rowe reportedly did not begin his song-writing career until he was in his
early 30s, making his eventual output of some 9,000 published works (hymns,
poems, and other expressions of his thoughts) pretty noteworthy. It’d been a
quarter-century since he’d begun expressing himself in this way, and ‘God Holds
the Future…’ was but one of many forms he was using to articulate what he’d
discovered. Verse one might have been the younger fellow who noted all the
troubles, but James’ refrain and verses two, three, and four sound more like a
seasoned, veteran Christian who wasn’t beaten down, despite some gloomy events.
A ’storm’ and ‘sun’, ‘good’ or ‘ill’ (v.2) occupy the same space, as do ‘zephyrs’
and ‘storms that rage’ (v.3). No matter what, He’s the future, as if it’s all
just something like malleable clay in his larger-than-life hands.
What explicit
circumstance James experienced to prompt this poetry is unknown, or is it? Rowe’s
words cover with a broad brush just about anyone’s encounters by the time 50-something
rolls around. And, he must have had his share of both ups and downs, as his poem’s
words indicate. Were the ‘Roaring 20s’ the same for Rowe as they were for others?
Had the recent world war damaged him or members of his family, instead? What do
you suppose James would have said about what lay just a few years ahead, in the
Great Depression? Perhaps he suspected something cataclysmic could ensue. But, ‘what
good’s it do to be anxious’…that’s a James Rowe verse-response to the up or
down arrow on the sign that warns me of what’s up ahead on the roadway. Seeing
around or beyond that next ditch or speed bump to a blissful existence isn’t Pollyanna.
God is real. He is truth (John 14:6). Better check Him out.
See the following links for brief biography of
the author:
See the
following link for all the song’s original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/g/o/d/h/godholds.htm
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