God Be With You Till We Meet Again, ELW 536
1 God be with you till we meet again; by good counsels guide, uphold you, with a shepherd's care enfold you;
God be with you till we meet again.
Refrain
Till we meet, till we meet, till we meet at Jesus' feet; till we meet, till we meet,
God be with you till we meet again.
2 God be with you till we meet again; holy wings securely hide you, daily manna still provide you;
God be with you till we meet again.
Refrain
3 God be with you till we meet again; when life's perils thick confound you, put unfailing arms around you;
God be with you till we meet again.
Devotion
At my father's funeral just months ago, I heard a story I had never heard before. In the darkest days of World War II, my father and two of his high school buddies prepared to go off to war. To send them off, his extended family gathered at the farm on a blizzard night in which their horses had to pull every car through the snow.
They gathered for warmth and hope as they faced the possibility, it seemed a certainty, that they would never see these young men again. As they dreaded to go their way, they sang this song, "God Be with You Till We Meet Again." They cried as they sang, but they took courage that God held them in a tight embrace.
Within months, two of the three young men were dead, but I am grateful that God's mysterious providence brought my dad home to live out so many callings in his long life. Now he has reunited with his two old friends and I know God, who has carried us through every storm, will bring us together again as well. The soaring chorus lifts our souls: "Till we meet ...."
Prayer
Lord, again we face daunting tasks and we have said goodbye to many. Give us courage till we meet again. Amen.