Yet?

I grew up hearing the older folks say "God has not failed me yet."  I fully agree with the "God not failed me" part.  It was the "yet" part that always bothered me.  It sounded almost like a gamble.  Are we expecting that although He's been on a role, at some point He might just fail?  The word "yet" has just always made this statement sound like doubt or uncertainty.  That is until I stumbled upon this story by an English musician and  composer, Gavin Bryars.

"In 1971, when I lived in London, I was working with a friend, Alan Power, on a film about people living rough in the area around Elephant and Castle and Waterloo Station. In the course of being filmed, some people broke into drunken song – sometimes bits of opera, sometimes sentimental ballads – and one, who in fact did not drink, sang a religious song "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet". This was not ultimately used in the film and I was given all the unused sections of tape, including this one.

When I played it at home, I found that his singing was in tune with my piano, and I improvised a simple accompaniment. I noticed, too, that the first section of the song – 13 bars in length – formed an effective loop which repeated in a slightly unpredictable way. I took the tape loop to Leicester (University), where I was working in the Fine Art Department, and copied the loop onto a continuous reel of tape, thinking about perhaps adding an orchestrated accompaniment to this. The door of the recording room opened on to one of the large painting studios and I left the tape copying, with the door open, while I went to have a cup of coffee. When I came back I found the normally lively room unnaturally subdued. People were moving about much more slowly than usual and a few were sitting alone, quietly weeping.

I was puzzled until I realized that the tape was still playing and that they had been overcome by the old man's singing. This convinced me of the emotional power of the music and of the possibilities offered by adding a simple, though gradually evolving, orchestral accompaniment that respected the homeless man's nobility and simple faith. Although he died before he could hear what I had done with his singing, the piece remains as an eloquent, but understated testimony to his spirit and optimism."

The homeless man simply sings over and over:
Jesus blood never failed me yet
this one thing I know
for he loves me so
Jesus blood never failed me yet

I was so moved by this story that I found the song on YouTube and began to listen to it being performed with an orchestra and halfway through, I was brought to tears by the certainty and peace in the singer's voice, in spite of his circumstances.  The emphasis he put on the word "yet" was as if he was answering my question of why the word was even used.  My heart was so transformed by a singing homeless man over 48 years ago that instead of hearing "Jesus blood never failed me yet" I begin to hear "YET, Jesus blood never failed me."  I went from hearing doubt to hearing faithfulness.  From hearing uncertainty to hearing "in spite of."

So today, no matter what things look like, I can say with unwavering confidence, "YET, Jesus blood never failed me."

Love Always,

Shy

To listen to the composition, visit https://youtu.be/TfT3njX2FLU

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