In John 15, Jesus admonishes His followers to abide in Him. In all things, we as his followers are to spend our lives abiding in Him. It is through this abiding that we find our strength and rest.  

The writer of our hymn “Abide With Me” takes a slightly different angle. Here the writer implores our Heavenly Father to abide with us. Or specifically, to abide with me. The Father has promised never to leave us or forsake us. So, why would we need to implore the Father to abide with us?  

The hymn contains four or five verses depending on which hymnal you are using. I will focus on verse three. The entire hymn speaks about the close of life.  Each of the verses contains a finality of life that would make it appropriate for the end of life. Verse three gives us four instances in our lives when we need to be reminded that we need our Father to abide with us.  

I need Thy presence ev’ry passing hour; 
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r? 
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be? 
Thro’ cloud and sunshine, O abide with me! 
 

EVERY PASSING HOUR 

The writer stipulated that we need God’s presence every passing hour. Indeed, this is a true word. How many times have we tried to handle a situation on our own only to realize that it didn’t work out so well? Then we do what we should have done in the first place. We ask God to guide us through the problem and fill us with His presence. We truly need His presence every passing hour. Often, every passing minute, but I get the author’s point here. The line takes us back to John 15:5  

I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (NASB) (emphasis mine) 

We need His presence every hour because without Him we “can do nothing.” It doesn’t work. It is flat and lifeless and without color. But, when we rely on Him, the colors come alive and we can accomplish things we only dreamed of and more. We need His presence every passing hour.  

GRACE CAN FOIL THE TEMPTER’S POW’R 

If not for God’s grace, we would not be able to withstand the tempter. His grace gives us the strength we need to endure the temptation.  1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us that in temptation there is a way out:  

No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (NASB) 

Do you see where God’s grace lies? He provides a way of escape. Temptation comes to all of us.  Our temptations may be different for each of us, meaning what tempts you may not trouble me and what tempts me may not trouble you. The common denominator is that we are all tempted. We don’t have to give in to the temptation. When we give in to temptation, it is by choice. His grace foils the tempter’s power. We have a way out, by God’s grace as we abide in Him and He abides with us.  

MY GUIDE AND STAY 

He is our guide and stay. He leads us through dark places and light. He is with us when it feels like we are going nowhere. He is the one who tells us, “Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21 NASB) He also tells us, “Stop striving and know that I am God…” (Psalm46:10 NASB) We need to spend time in His word and in prayer so when He prompts us to move or to stay, we will understand. Remember John 15:5? We can do nothing apart from Him. Learning to let Him be our guide and stay is not easy, I will admit, but it is essential to abiding with Him and Him abiding with us. And I daresay it is a lifetime process. There is no one better able to lead us than our God and Savior. There is no one better able to stay with us in the dark times than Himself. Are you striving? Are you allowing Him to be your guide and stay? It isn’t too late to begin. Why not start now? 

THROUGH CLOUD AND SUNSHINE 

We tend to notice we need God more when it is cloudy, don’t we? The overcast skies get to us after a while, and we can’t seem to break free from the dreariness. But when the sun comes out suddenly, we are on top of the world and we put our hand up and say to God, “I got this.” Take a big step forward and… fall flat on our face. It is then that we realize we need Him in the clouds and the sunshine. The cloudy days and darkness may physically affect our mood, creating depression. We don’t think of it so much when the sun shines bright. Yet we need our Heavenly Father just as much in sunny days as in the cloudy. The writer of this hymn was wise to include the phrase “through cloud and sunshine.” It wasn’t a literary tactic because he needed his song to rhyme or needed to complete the meter.  I know we have all had days and seasons when the sun was shining but there seemed to be a dark cloud following us wherever we went. Anything we tried turned into dust. New ventures failed. Relationships soured. We felt we were a failure and our self-worth plummeted. It is in these dark days that we know we need God to be with us. The more we abide in Him, the more we know He is with us.  

WHERE ARE YOU? 

When Adam and Eve fell in the garden, they hid themselves from the Lord. It was, of course, a vain attempt. They knew the fellowship had been damaged by what they had done. So, when the Lord came in the cool of the day to walk with them as He always did, they hid. They failed to abide in what they knew of their Creator and believed the lies of the tempter. Since that day, we have all done much the same. We bear the curse of their actions. In fact, had we been in their place, I imagine the outcome would have been the same.  

But now there is hope. Jesus paid the price for what began in the garden when he gave His life on the cross for you and me and everyone who ever lived or ever will live. Now we have the hope of abiding in Him.  

So, where are you? Are you caught in the grip of the tempter’s power? Are you abiding in Him? Is He your guide and stay? Have you learned to lean on Him in cloud and sunshine? Do you understand that you need Him every hour?  

This hymn has so much truth to offer, so much hope. This one verse has given us so much to think about. Take some time today to meditate on the scriptures I have given us here and visit www.hymnary.org to hear and read Abide with Me. Let it be the beginning of something wondrous. 

All for One 

Angela