One of my favorite songs is the gospel tune “Soon and Very Soon.” It is a song of resurrection hope by Andrae Crouch. The phrase which certainly professes Advent: “soon and very soon, we are going to see the King”, repeats three times before giving way to, “Hallelujah, Hallelujah, we’re going to see the King.” This repeats and then the third verse states, “they’ll be no more cryin’ there, we are going to see the King.” The fourth verse confirms, “they’ll be no more dyin’ there, we are going to see the King.” When we think of the hope of Advent, our hope in Jesus Christ, the hope of our resurrection like His, these words describe what awaits us in heaven.
These lyrics are straight from heaven and John’s vision in the Letter of Revelation; “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is among the people and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”(Revelation 21:3-4)
This is our hope, this is what we will know perfectly when we are resurrected to new life in heaven. But what about today, what about while we are here?
Crouch shares his feelings about God’s presence with us right now in the bridge of this song. Most hymnals, most song books, do not contain the bridge. We have sung this song before but not the bridge. The bridge lyrics tell us that God provides for us now: “should there be any rivers we must cross, should there be any mountains we must climb; God will supply all the strength that we need, give us grace till we reach the other side.” As the words suggest, we will face obstacles in this life, but we need to remember that God is with us, providing grace when we fall short of his standard and strength to overcome whatever life throws our way.
The bridge continues, reminding us of the Good News: “We have come from every nation, God know each of us by name. Jesus took His blood and washed our sins, He washed them all away. Yet there are some of us who have laid down our lives, but we shall all live again on the other side.”
I encourage you to do a web search, pull this song up, close your eyes and listen to it three, four, five times and allow the images of this song to flow through your heart and mind. Read the words of Revelation 21:3-4 and know that God is with us now and has already made possible our resurrection to Him. Our new home awaits; no more cryin’, no more dyin’, no more mourning, and no more pain. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, we are going to see the King!
Prayer; Father, what a glorious picture you paint for us in Revelation, our home in heaven with no more pain, no more tears, no more mourning, and no more death. Thank you for this song which allows us to sing Your praises, declare our hope in You, and proclaim Your Glory. We look forward to seeing You, face to face, Hallelujah! In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.