“By Gracious Powers so Wonderfully Sheltered” This commonly sung song, which Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in 1944, causes one to pause and think. Bonhoeffer was a theologian who opposed the Nazi regime at the time of the Second World War. That’s the reason why he was sitting in jail while he wrote this poem to his fiancé and his family. At that point in time, he didn’t know if he would ever see them again. He had to face the reality of being put to death, which actually did take place after he was relocated to the concentration camp in Buchenwald.

“By gracious powers faithfully and quietly surrounded, wonderfully sheltered and comforted.” Bonhoeffer wrote these lines in his most lonely hours. Despite the life-threatening external circumstances, he experienced a deep inner peace. He carried within him the strong assurance that his life is secure in God. Neither loneliness, nor rejection, nor even death could separate him from this security.

God also wants to give you security. Who do you turn to when you feel lonely?

Lyric Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jUxX_GgtrE

Applicable Bible text: Romans 8:31-39