“Troublesome times are here, filling men’s hearts with fear

Freedom we all hold dear now is at stake

Humbling your hearts to God saves from the chastening rod

Seek the way pilgrims trod, Christians awake

Jesus is coming soon, morning or night or noon

Many will meet their doom, trumpets will sound

All of the dead shall rise, righteous meet in the skies

Going where no one dies, heavenward bound”

It is a hymn written by an American songwriter, R.E. Winsett, in 1942. 

You may not see the significance of the date of composition, but a US history teacher raised me. Think about the cultural setting of American society in 1942. This would have been within 11 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States entering into World War 2. R.E. Winsett poetically verbalized the thoughts on most American’s minds during that year. The last few years have been tough for us, but we aren’t the first generation of Christians to face tough years. The circumstances the first—third century Christians faced were beyond imagination, but we sometimes forget things were tough even more recent than that. 

Imagine being a Christian during the times many of our grandparents and great-grandparents lived. One generation faced the draft and came home from World War 1 to have a few peaceful years and then face the Great Depression. After they endured all those trials, World War 2 started. Only this time, their sons were being called to serve the country. The generation that went to World War 2 was raised by fathers who fought in World War 1 and survived the Great Depression. Those generations of Americans knew their share of difficulties. 

Can you imagine the atmosphere of that era? I know things are tough now; they are scary, and the future seems bleak to many. But folks, troublesome times have always been here. We sometimes live so comfortably that we forget it. While these times may fill others with fear, don’t let it fill you with fear. “Freedom we all hold dear, now is at stake.” Do you feel the cultural setting of that statement for a country entering World War 2? I’ll remind you, even if our physical freedoms are completely removed. We are free from something far worse: sin. 

My friends, Jesus is coming soon. Are you living with the confidence that you should?