Mid-career,
and this composer/author and his wife were probably in Nashville, Tennessee
when they crafted this song – Shine On Us – as a personal appeal to their Creator.
If it sounds like a prayer when Michael W. Smith and his wife Debbie play it in
concert, your insides aren’t misleading you, as Michael seems to confirm with
his own recollection of what happened the first time he tried out the music and
a few of the words. The way it came out, with just a few simple but powerful thoughts,
is probably the way the One above would prefer that we talk to Him when we pray.
He wants it to be personal, and He wants us to rely on Him for the deepest need
every one of us has – for Himself and the light He brings to blot out darkness
in someone’s life.
Mid-life in
1996 was just about upon him, which is about as much detail as one can gather
from available printed information to ascertain what prompted Michael’s thoughts
in ‘Shine On Us’. That is, until you watch what Michael W. Smith says on a live
stage when he introduces this song. In a 2016 concert (watch the youtube video
ref’d below) he says it happened this way. During a prayer meeting, ‘Shine On
Us’ was written spontaneously and with just a few people present -- an intimate setting, as he says – that allowed
the Spirt to move. He says he just ad-libbed on the spot, and at the end of the
evening could not stop playing the tune, and thought to himself that it was
really something special. Later, his wife Debbie helped him finish off the
lyrics. Michael indicates the song’s lyrics were really something he felt was
so profound, given the way events in the world arise. Michael shakes his head,
and puts his face in his hands, as if to say, ‘Lord, we need you here below so
much…would You be with us in our moment of desperation?’ And, so Michael and
Debbie prayed for not only His face’s light to shine (v.1), but also for the very
building blocks of God’s character to bless them – for grace (v.2), and for
love (v.3). Are there any other elements of God that are more necessary? His
light shone in the very beginning, exposing what He was doing – creating (Gen.
1:1). And, grace is what I need the most when I stand before Him (Rom. 5:2).
His love for me is at the root of His being – He IS love (1 John 4:8). This
kind of prayer never grows old, does it?
Michael
and Debbie had already been creating music for many years when ‘Shine On Us’
was born, and it had been 20 years since they’d first performed it, when they sang
it again in the 2016 concert. That means that what they expressed in 1996 was more
or less centrally fixated along their timeline, as well as along their spirit-line. That says something
about the believer’s journey, that I must keep the basics with Him always fresh
and pivotal in my walk. Michael says they were beginning a new church relationship
when ‘Shine On Us’ emerged, so the Smiths were evidently seeking spiritual guidance
as they contemplated this event. Apprehension or excitement, it really doesn’t
matter which feeling is present; I need His light, grace, and love. He’s my
anchor, and apparently the Smiths still believe this, too. Keep singing and
sharing how He shines, Michael and Debbie!
The author/composer shares the genesis of the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjuKfaCosmI
See the
following link for biography of author: https://hymnary.org/person/Smith_MW
Also see
here: http://michaelwsmith.com/
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