Shelter

Ira Sankey had a special reaction when he first read the words to the hymn, “A Shelter in the Time of Storm.” As the music leader of Dwight L. Moody’s evangelistic crusades, Sankey had composed and arranged hundreds of hymns. But this hymn seemed particularly important.

Born on this day in 1840, he learned that the words had been written around 1880 by Vernon John Charlesworth, an English pastor. Sankey was moved as he read Charlesworth’s declaration that God is our Rock.

He described how we can be secure through any storm as we hide in Him, even in “a weary land.” He declared that God provides “a shade by day, defense by night” so we don’t have to be afraid, even if storms rage all around.

This hymn had special meaning for many sailors, men who knew what it was like to travel through turbulent waters. Many English fishermen were known to sing these words “as they approached their harbors in the time of storm.”

Sankey thought that the message of this hymn was so important that he wrote new music for it. And it is through his revised arrangement that the hymn became best known.

Are you going through any storms in your family, your faith, your finances, or your relationships? In every situation, know you can depend on Jesus. Make Him your Rock. Seek shelter in His presence. Trust Him.