7 Peaceful Hymns to Encourage You in Times of Suffering
Share
Paul and Silas did something odd as they sat in a prison cell – they sang (Acts 16:23-25). Being chained and locked away for following Christ are not cheerful events that naturally lead to singing. Of course, those who are happy should raise their voices in praise (James 5:13). But singing is not reserved solely for positive moments; we can be encouraged at any time by song, like Paul and Silas were on that day.
As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts” (Colossians 3:16).
To sing, even in times of hardship and suffering, is to remind ourselves of the truth that remains steady even when everything around us is shifting. It is an act that serves to encourage us while simultaneously defying the darkness that tells us to despair.
Christians of old turned to song to bolster their faith in times of suffering. Saint Augustine sang hymns by Ambrose, and the oppressed slaves in America created beautiful spirituals to express sorrow and motivate others to hope. As a family of Christ followers, we have a rich history of singing to remind ourselves of truth and to hold onto hope.
The seven hymns listed here can help us to do just that; as we sing the words in worship to our Savior, we are encouraged to lean onto Him when pain tells us to turn away. May the songs help us to do what Lilias Trotter, the missionary who inspired the beloved hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” said: “Believe in the darkness what you have seen in the light.”
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Asia Vision
1. Be Still, My Soul
When tempests swirl around us, the Lord speaks with power: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10). The command to quiet ourselves and recognize the sovereignty of God amid hardship is challenging to follow. We naturally scramble for control and a solution. Yet the Lord’s way provides us with the space to acknowledge our neediness while surrendering to His good will. It is in times of greatest turmoil that we especially need a still and steady trust in God.
The hymn “Be Still, My Soul” by Kathrina von Schlegel offers a reminder to those of us who are suffering pain and grief. In the song, we are gently reminded of the Lord’s presence amid our troubles and nudged back toward Him.
In addition to encouraging us to see our suffering as an opportunity to know the Savior more closely, the hymn speaks of the coming day when all sorrow and grief will be gone: “[T]he hour is hast'ning on / When we shall be forever with the Lord, / When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, / Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.” Our Lord, Himself, will wipe away the tears from our eyes (Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 21:4).
We may not immediately feel at peace or more hopeful. Nor will singing the song change our circumstances. However, as we keep lifting our voices in praise, we are reminded that we do not walk alone. Our Savior is with us, and His comforting presence provides us with what we need in the dark valley of grief.
Click here to listen to the song, by Reawaken Hymns.
Photo credit: Unsplash/giulia_bertelli
2. Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Seasons of pain can leave us with doubts and questions. Instead of feeling more assured of the promises of Scripture, we may question why the Lord has allowed such suffering into our lives. Often, this can lead us to wander away from the One who loves us most.
Struggling to worship the Lord at these times is what the classic hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” by Robert Robinson, explores. The song gives words to how many of us feel, that we are “prone to wander.” Many scholars believe this popular verse from the song was likely autobiographical for Robinson, who wandered away to live in sin before turning back and placing faith in Christ. In our struggle, we can draw encouragement from the words, to seek the Lord’s help to praise Him and keep our heart steadfast and faithful.
Instead of allowing times of suffering to push us away from the Lord, we can do as the hymn says and raise an Ebenezer to remember the goodness and grace of our God. As Robinson wrote, “Jesus sought me when a stranger, / wandering from the fold of God; / he, to rescue me from danger, / interposed his precious blood.”
Click here to listen to the song, by Celtic Worship.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/FCerez
3. I Love the Lord
Many hymns were inspired by Psalms. Isaac Watts was especially known for his ability to utilize a psalm and incorporate its language into a new song. One such hymn is the short, but impactful, “I Love the Lord” based on Psalm 116. Other renditions from modern artists have added to the original song, but the message stays the same. The Lord has shown Himself to be faithful, even during a time of hardship.
In Psalm 116, the psalmist faced the threat of death, either from enemies or sickness. He felt the cords of death wrap around him and called out to the Lord for help. In His graciousness and goodness, God saved the psalmist. Because of this, the psalmist could encourage himself to trust again in the Lord: “Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you” (Psalm 116:7).
We, too, can find fresh hope by recalling the past faithfulness of God and trusting that He will provide help even in the situation we are facing presently.
Click here to listen to the song, by Page CXVI.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Paha_L
4. When Peace, Like a River (It is Well with My Soul)
Declaring in worship to the Lord that “it is well with my soul” might seem like the last thing we want to do when enduring painful loss or illness. How can we say it is well with all the difficulties overwhelming us?
The author of this hymn, Horatio Gates Spafford, was no stranger to these feelings, for he had suffered great loss when a wreck at sea took the lives of his four children. He poetically described how life often includes great sadness: “when sorrows like sea billows roll.”
His ability to declare with trust that “it is well,” came not from an ignorance of the pain in life or a rejection to address sorrow. Rather, his ability to praise came from trust in the character of God. Whatever he endured, and whatever troubles came his way, the Lord remained faithful. The hope he defiantly sang in the wake of loss was grounded in Christ, for it was He who shed His blood and paid our sins. It is Jesus who will return, and on that day, faith will be made sight.
Amid our circumstances, we cannot say that everything is fine. That would be a lie and severely limit our ability to engage with others in a broken world. But we can look at the cross, our loving Savior pierced for the sake of all the sin, suffering, and pain in the world, and affirm that “it is well with my soul.” For as Julian of Norwich wrote numerous years before Spafford, “[A]ll shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing[s] shall be well.”
Everything may still be broken, but it will not always be so. We can hope as we look forward to the coming renewal of all things.
Click here to listen to the song, by Keith and Kristyn Getty.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/den-belitsky
5. How Great Thou Art
Well-crafted arguments and sermons on the problem of suffering are sometimes not what we need when we are walking through a dark valley of pain or grief. We may already know all the answers and can articulate them to others, but mere information can seem ineffective when we are hurt.
In these moments, one of the actions that can help us draw closer to God is to step outside into His creation. The world around us reveals His attributes (Romans 1:20), and we may learn more about His goodness by sitting under a starry sky or watching the leaves of a tree sway than ingesting more facts. Even in our pain, we will find ourselves worshiping the Lord.
Carl Boberg certainly did. The Swedish poet penned the words to “How Great Thou Art” after witnessing a thunderstorm and listening to church bells after the storm. To him, the experience was not merely another act of nature, but a display of God’s power and magnificence. Other parts of the natural world, like the stars and woods, similarly led Boberg to praise the Savior.
Amid the wonder of witnessing such beauty, we can perceive with fresh eyes the sacrifice of our Savior. The song stirs us to respond to the Son who did not just die on a cross two thousand years ago; He bore our sins and died for each one of us. This same Savior who shed His blood on our behalf will return one day soon (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). On that day, our joy will be unmatched.
In our struggle to understand seasons of pain, this hymn cuts through our doubts and questions by refocusing our perspective on the great God who not only formed the universe, but entered creation to save us (John 1:1-3, 14).
Click here to listen to the song, by Shane and Shane.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/~UserGI15667539
6. Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
In recent years, this hymn has been criticized as teaching a dichotomy between spiritual life and everyday life. During times of suffering, this manmade divide can seem even greater when we listen to lies like it is unspiritual to grieve for a loved one, or we are engaging with earthly desires when we mourn the loss of a job or cherished season of life. The things of earth growing dim already seem to be true at these times.
Yet we misconstrue reality, and the hymn, when we insist on this compartmentalization of life. Rather than disparaging situations and griefs on earth, the hymn reminds us that clarity and hope come when we focus on Jesus.
This song was written by Helen Howarth Lemmel who was inspired to pen the famous words after reading a pamphlet written by Lilias Trotter, a missionary to North Africa. In her devotional essay, “Focussed,” Trotter wrote, “Turn full your soul's vision to Jesus, and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him.”
“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” is meant to bring comfort to the weary and burdened, not frustration. We gain greater peace and clarity when we turn our focus back to the most important part of our lives – knowing and being known by Christ. We are wise to put first things first by viewing our lives through the lens of our relationship to Jesus. Following Him in fellowship means that nothing is wasted or meaningless. Our suffering, too, is an opportunity to return to the One who can bring light into our darkness (John 8:12).
Click here to listen to the song, by Jess Ray.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Capuski
7. Were You There
As a hauntingly beautiful Black spiritual, “Were You There” does something different for the worshipers. Instead of singing about events in the past, the hymn places us into the moments when Jesus was crucified and resurrected. We imagine ourselves present at the crucifixion, at the place where they prepared His body for burial, and as they laid Him in a tomb. The imaginative immersion, along with the music, causes us to tremble, as the hymn says.
But this song is not merely for Good Friday or Easter services. We benefit now amid the heartache of everyday life by singing the words and imagining ourselves witnessing the sacrificial death of our Savior. For in doing so, we remember that He understands what it means to suffer. The innocent Son of God was sentenced to death and nailed to a tree on our behalf (1 Peter 2:22-24). He empathizes with our pain (see Hebrews 4:15).
Recalling the basis of our faith – Christ’s death and resurrection – can stir up hope when other aspects of life leave us in despair. So, may we lift our voices and add them to the countless others who have found comfort and encouragement in the words of classic hymns.
Click here to listen to the song, by Mahalia Jackson.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/GordonImages
