Wednesday, August 8, 2018

The story behind a beloved Christian song

In 2015, I bought the CD “God Will Make a Way: The Best of Don Moen”.  I have listened to it dozens of times, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  But something I didn’t know about it until just recently is that in the lyrics guide there is a description of how Christian singer/songwriter Don Moen came to write the beloved song “God Will Make a Way”.  At the beginning, we are told parenthetically that these words are from a devotional book also called “God Will Make a Way.”  I was so impacted by the story behind this song that I wanted to share it with you.  

“Late one evening, Don Moen received a phone call with devastating news: his wife’s sister had lost her oldest son in an automobile accident.  Craig and Susan Phelps and their four sons were traveling through Texas on their way to Colorado when their van was struck by an eighteen-wheeler truck.  All four boys were thrown from the van.  Craig and Susan located their sons by their cries – one boy was lying in the ditch, another in an area wet from melted snow.  Nearby was his brother who landed by a telephone pole.  All were seriously injured, but when Craig, a medical doctor, reached Jeremy, he found him lying by a fence post with his neck broken.  There was nothing Craig could do to revive him.

When Don received the news of this tragedy a few hours later, he recalls, “My whole world came to a standstill, but I had to get on a plane the next morning and fly to a recording session that had been scheduled for several weeks.  Although I knew Craig and Susan were hurting, I couldn’t be with them until the day before the funeral.  During the flight the morning after the accident, God gave me a song for them: ‘God will make a way where there seems to be no way.  He works in ways we cannot see.  He will make a way for me.’  The song was based upon Isaiah 43:19 NASB – ‘Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it?  I will make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.’”

The song would bring comfort to Craig and Susan when all hope seemed lost.  It touched the hurt in their hearts with hope and encouragement…When Jeremy’s friends learned that he had accepted Jesus into his life before he died, many of them began to ask their own parents how they could be assured of going to heaven when they died.  The accident also prompted Craig and Susan into a deeper walk with the Lord as well as into new avenues of ministry.  Craig began teaching Sunday school at their church and Susan became active in Women’s Aglow, sharing with various groups her story and the Lord’s provision in her time of sorrow.

She has since said, “The day of the accident, when I got out of the van, even before I knew our son was dead, I knew I had a choice.  I could be bitter and angry or I could totally accept God and whatever He had for us.  I had to make the decision fast.  I’ve seen fruit come as a result of that choice.  If I had to, I’d do it again.  It’s worth knowing others will go to heaven because of what happened to Jeremy.  God really did make a way for us!”

Soon after “God Will Make A Way” was recorded, people from around the world began to write and call, sharing with Don how they had experienced similar tragedies.  All of the calls and letters had one great theme – God had made a way for them when all hope seemed lost!  God had carried them through a shattering situation, and by His grace, they were emerging with stronger faith, renewed hope and increased courage on the other side of heartache and loss.”

Last month marked three full years since my dad passed away.  He was only 60 years of age.  Stories of loss like the one I’ve shared today affect me deeply.  I know the heart-wrenching agony and excruciating pain that comes when you have to face the death of a loved one much sooner than you ever thought you would.  But, just as that last paragraph stated, I can attest that God has indeed made a way when there didn’t seem to be a way at all.  He has done this through His mighty power and grace.  I marvel at God’s faithfulness.

Kevin

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