Beautiful Things -- Michael and Lisa Gungor

 

Was it pre-natal depression syndrome, a diagnosis a doctor might have offered to reassure a young couple expecting a first child? That might have been what Michael and Lisa Gungor would have heard, had they actually been pregnant at the time, about a decade into the 21^st Century. Instead, there were lots of other events outside of themselves, assailing their emotions as they tried to make sense of it all. This was in the months before they wrote that some “Beautiful Things” do indeed inhabit the world their God has created. Had the mile-high altitude affected their minds earlier, in their new home in Denver (see its flag here)? The world was a mess, and lots of their friends also had reasons to doubt the goodness of God in their own personal crises, so Michael and Lisa were asking poignantly for God to break through. And, He did…or showed that He already had.

 

The multifaceted anxieties of Michael and Lisa Gungor met up with their faith part way through the first decade of the 21^st Century, and ‘Beautiful Things’ can be seen, more or less, as the ensuing discussion that this couple must have had with each other about all that was going on. War and poverty were on Lisa’s mind during that time, not to mention several friends who were having miscarriages. Was God trying to tell Michael and her that something was amiss? Was God even watching? The Gungors wanted to have children, and yet they couldn’t help feeling apprehensive about this world. It was Lisa who began to sort through it all, and a chorus emerged about how God makes some beautiful things, even ‘out of the dust’ of the ground. And since all of us flesh-and-blood beings come from that dust, He can make beautiful things ‘out of us’, too. One can imagine Lisa and Michael looking through Genesis, the very beginning, and reassuring themselves that the Creator knows what He’s doing. Other elements of human existence, which might seem dirty or unredeemable, can likewise be transformed with God’s influence. Nevertheless, I cannot initially see all that He sees, so my doubt coexists, for a time, with evidences of Him. ‘Pain’ (v.1), and even the ‘earth’ itself (v.2) are two concrete, doubt-inducing evidences that contest God’s goodness. These things don’t just surface occasionally, either. One might say that pain and all the other difficulties on planet Earth proliferate, threatening to suffocate what is good. So, you can hear those emotions in the Gungors’ verses, those misgivings that could choke out the courage through faith that we otherwise can have. A ‘garden’ and ‘hope’ are His gifts to us, to offset – or even re-make -- the alternatives that inhabit the ‘chaos’ and ‘lost’ things. He can ‘make me (and you) new’, a realization that perhaps hit Michael and Lisa most palpably months later when they had their first child, a life He made.

 

They admit that their daughter’s arrival helped speak to Michael and Lisa about Him, so that they could see other things with His fingerprints on them. He’s capable of creating, and re-creating, so He’s able to communicate hope to me, just by being who He is. Juxtapose that characterization of Him with what His opponent wants to do. You can find it all in your bible, if you choose to look. Peter said this noxious alternative to the Creator wants to ‘devour’ humanity (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is a tempter (Matthew 4:1-10), not even stopping with Jesus. He binds people in pain (Luke 3:16), is a liar and a source for others who lie (Acts 5:3), is a masquerade artist (2 Corinthians 11:14), and the source of injustice and ultimately the lawlessness that is to come at the end times (2 Thessalonians 2:9). But, He’s been beaten in eternity (Revelation 20), so what is your choice? You want to be with our Creator of beauty, or with the beaten in a fire pit?    

 

The information for the song story is here: https://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/2011/03/gungor_finds_beautiful_things.html

All the Way My Savior Leads Me -- Fanny J. Crosby

It was a $5 bill that might have looked something like this (see picture of the American $5 as it looked in the 1869-80 period) that she received from a total stranger, inspiring her to write three verses. Aunt Fanny, known more formally as Frances Jane Crosby, perhaps got a new appreciation for God that day in 1874 in New York City’s Manhattan district when she prayed and almost immediately got an answer, proclaiming that “All the Way My Savior Leads Me” in her recollection of this extraordinary experience.  It’s remarkable how a seemingly momentary incident spurred Crosby to write poetically and endearingly about Him, revealing how closely linked to His life she really was. The place where she was underscores still more the strength of this poetess’ life, despite her outward appearance. But, she made it clear – it wasn’t about herself, but instead the One about whom she wrote.

Fanny Crosby was 54, and working in domestic rescue missions in the slums of New York City when she felt the need to pray about her situation one day. She could have despaired and sought a way to get out of her circumstances, perhaps by using her musical and writing skills to garner more personal prosperity. Yet, she had made the choice many years prior to 1874 that she would serve the Lord, by not just supporting missions to poor people in the slums, but also by living among those who needed help so desperately. She wanted to feel their pain, to be one of them, and so there she was one day in a forlorn state. Prayer was all she had, and so she prayed. One wonders what words she must have used! By her own account, the words she would write as a result were the first put to music by her minister-friend Dr. Robert Lowry. But, the fellow who knocked on her door and handed her five dollars remains unknown, an anonymous, obedient vessel who had responded to God’s heart-call, communicating a truth to her – that He was leading her, in every step. This $5-giver was unknown to Fanny in two ways: she knew not his face, since she was blind; and, his name was likewise hidden. Perhaps with her extra-sensitive ears, Fanny might have been able to recall his voice. Another voice was what she chose to hear, however. She could hear her Master speaking, and she could foresee being in His presence, too. She could laud him for her present circumstances, the ‘here…’ (v.1), see what was approaching – ‘a spring of joy…’ (v.2), and exult in a future when she’d be able look back and recall His guidance – ‘Jesus led me all the way’ (v.3). It seems Fanny was capable of seeing much more than what we might imagine.    

What’s $5 worth in the 2020 economy? It probably wouldn’t get you a complete meal in America, not even a fast food meal. But to Fanny, the half-sawbuck she held in her hand – which someone must have told her about, since she couldn’t see it – was evidence of a priceless treasure. ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ (Matthew 6:11) may have been ringing in Fanny’s ears. One gets the sense that she didn’t allow herself to be overcome with anxiety, perhaps a trait she allowed to grow still more as a consequence of this episode. Are you feeling anxious today? You need $5 to see God at work? God has paid much more than that to show you Himself. Fanny must have thought so too.

   

See more information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990; 101 Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1982; and Then Sings My Soul, by Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.

Also see this link, showing all three verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/a/l/t/altheway.htm

Also see this link for author’s biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Crosby

And here also: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/c/r/o/s/crosby_fj.htm

Also see this site for song information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_Way_My_Savior_Leads_Me

See this link for information about the U.S. 5-dollar bill: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_five-dollar_bill

Blessed Be the Lord God Almighty -- Bob Fitts

He and his family really didn’t get what they thought they would when they moved to Kona, Hawaii in the early 1980s. The sights and the history of the place were certainly what they’d dreamed about, enough to plausibly make anyone say “Blessed Be the Lord God Almighty” when taking it all in. (See here a historical photo of King Kamehameha, who held court on the “Big Island” of Kona in 1816, nearly 150 years before it became the U.S. 50^th state.) But, that was about it. Poverty was not what Bob Fitts thought he and his wife (Kathy) and their two young children would find, yet that was the reality of their lives, despite the beauty of their surroundings. And so, Bob might have been excused for having other things on his mind one day when a church asked him to sing a song. The premier of this song he crafted in just a few minutes wasn’t exactly auspicious. In fact, it fell as flat as the lifestyle in which the Fitts family found themselves. That was not the end, however. Read on.

What emerged from the deprivation Bob Fitts experienced was ultimately in stark contrast to the surroundings in which it was first conceived. The Fittses were living in what is locally called a ‘coffee shack’, a dwelling normally used by farmers who grow the famous coffee for which Kona is known. Fitts had accepted a challenge to move to the island and help guide young people in the Youth With a Mission (YWAM) outreach organization. Probably the high cost-of-living, scarcity of housing, and the nature of Bob’s position led to the subpar housing they found available. Consequently, Bob’s state of mind left him feeling pretty bereft, spiritually as well as physically, when a church asked him to sing something special. Bob fashioned a song for the occasion in just a few minutes, lauding the God he was willing to serve in spite of the hardship he and his family were enduring. At first, he didn’t even bother to write down the words or record the music, and when he arose to sing it at the event for the first time, his memory failed. Bob must have thought that this episode was rather indicative of his entire Hawaii experience, in a way. A promise of something special had instead come up empty, or nearly so. Nevertheless, Bob did not throw in the towel, but on the way home from this deflating experience he recalled the tune and the words to “Blessed Be the Lord God Almighty’, permitting him to record them this time in his shack-home. YWAM was soon helping spread Bob’s song, locally and worldwide. He relates one of his most poignant moments was hearing a stadium filled with thousands in South Korea singing ‘Blessed Be the Lord…’ in a language he doesn’t even speak. Maybe it was Bob’s poor-in-spirit moment in his shack that made room for the rich creation that was born so readily and widely adopted.

You think that Bob Fitts’ ‘Blessed Be the Lord God Almighty’ experience may have something to do with him still living in Hawaii, 40 years later? The Fittses have travelled widely to spread the message that was encapsulated in the song born in a shack. In fact, they make their church ‘home’ in Singapore, while still maintaining a home – but, not the original shack! – in the Kailua-Kona area. Hawaii’s isolation perhaps spurs their outlook, the urge to extend themselves far and wide. This must help them see and appreciate even more the blessed way God has worked, to fashion and use them as tools, even while they were feeling pretty needy and suspecting they were in the wrong place. ‘…lift your name in all the earth’, Bob wrote in one phrase of the shack-song. Perhaps he was hoping for that when he accepted the challenge in the early 1980s with YWAM. Now, the Fitts clan seems to be living it.              

A source for the song story is the book “Our God Reigns: Stories behind Your Favorite Praise and Worship Songs”, by Phil Christensen and Shari MacDonald, Kregel Publications, 2000. See more information on the song story in The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006

See here for information about one of the author: https://www.bobfitts.com/about