Rejoice

Rejoice in the Lord

by Ron Hamilton

God never moves without purpose or plan
When trying His servant and molding a man.
Give thanks to the Lord though your testing seems long;
In darkness He giveth a song.
I could not see through the shadows ahead;
So I looked at the cross of my Savior instead.
I bowed to the will of the Master that day;
Then peace came and tears fled away.
Now I can see testing comes from above;
God strengthens His children and purges in love.
My Father knows best, and I trust in His care;
Through purging more fruit I will bear.
O Rejoice in the LORD
He makes no mistake,
He knoweth the end of each path that I take,
For when I am tried
And purified,
I shall come forth as gold.

A little bit about the author, Ron Hamilton, also known to many children as Patch the Pirate...
 
When Ron Hamilton was 27 years old, the eye doctor discovered something in his left eye that worried him. After several weeks of testing, he was rolled into the operating room, not knowing what the outcome would be. As Ron slowly regained consciousness after surgery, his wife gave him the startling news that the doctor had found cancer and had had to remove his left eye. The doctor gave him his first patch, and suddenly, Ron was a pirate! Kids were fascinated by the patch and soon began calling him Patch the Pirate. The song Rejoice in the Lord was born out of this experience, and the Lord has used Ron's Patch the Pirate story and song recordings in a tremendous way.