The Unchanging Anchor: God’s Presence in Times of Change and Decay

They say as you get older, the speed of life increases.

Christmases and birthdays arrive sooner. Months blur as they race toward life’s finish line. New Year’s Day was yesterday when July’s fireworks burst overhead.

I have felt it. Changes come at sonic speed.

In my lifetime, we gazed at a moon and then stood on its surface. Computers were science fiction until they became routine taskmasters, demanding passwords to unlock their secrets.

And then there are physical changes. Wrinkles carve times passing around eyes and mouth. You hear the sounds of a small battle as joints pop and rebel at moving. Eyes grow dim and disease becomes an uninvited guest.

I have noticed this most in the passing of many people (or the expected passing). In the past year, I performed 18 funerals, some for friends. I am watching as people I have cared for are winding down, waiting for heaven’s door to open.

How do we approach such times in life?

Henry knew.

His life ended far too soon at the age of 54. Tuberculosis squeezed breath from his body.

Years before, he read of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. They begged him to “abide” with them as they approached the close of day and travel. (Luke 24:29)

As his close drew near, he had but one request. Preach a final sermon. It shocked his family, knowing it might hasten his end.

His daughter described it.

His weakness and the possible danger attending the effort, were urged to prevent it, but in vain. “It was better”, as he used to say often playfully, when in comparative health, “to wear out than to rust out”. He felt that he should be enabled to fulfil his wish, and feared not for the result. His expectation was well founded. He did preach, and amid the breathless attention of his hearers, gave them a sermon… In the evening of the same day he placed in the hands of a near and dear relative the little hymn, “Abide with Me”, with an air of his own composing, adapted to the words.

Henry Lyte knew about times of death and life, growth, and death. He knew how to face it.

They sang his hymn Abide With Me at his funeral. It contains several verses, but the second verse resonates most with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;

earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away.

Change and decay in all around I see.

O thou who changest not, abide with me.

I have witnessed the “change and decay.” War, hate, and animosity consume our world. Death knocks at more doors.

Sometimes it gets personal. Tears form in the eye and the lump in the throat doesn’t swallow but sticks there. It is easy to become wistful, looking for peaceful times. Yet, the good old days are only good in our memories.

It takes more than memories to guide us through turbulence, trial, and trouble. We need an anchor, a fixed standard that doesn’t move.

Lyte speaks of that anchor. “Thou who changest not, abide with me.”

Through all life’s challenges, God is there. He stands at the head of every casket, in front of every hospital door. He is there in bedrooms, buses, cars, and trains. When smiles broaden, he is there. When crushing disappointment invades, he is there.

No matter what changes in your life and in our world, something does not change. God cares and God aids those who hold his hand.

So let the world change as it will with every journey around the sun. I know the one that does not change.