EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE ALL RIGHT
Al Green. 1987. Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.
It is a simple line from a great song, sung by a voice the world recognized long before it listened closely, that keeps finding its way back into our shared vocabulary: everything’s gonna be all right. It is not complicated. It is not technical. It does not pretend that pain is imaginary or that trouble is light. It simply insists, gently but firmly, that despair does not get the final word.
These are trying times. They always are. Each generation feels its own weight, its own urgency, its own sense that the ground is shaking beneath familiar feet. We live with constant updates, constant alarms, constant opinions competing for our attention and our allegiance. Anxiety has learned how to speak in headlines. Fear has learned how to dress itself up as wisdom. Yet the human heart has always needed the same reassurance it needs now: that the story is bigger than the moment, and the moment is not the master.
The song works because it tells the truth in a way the soul can carry. It does not say everything feels all right. It says everything will be all right. That is not denial; it is hope. And hope, when it is rooted properly, is not wishful thinking. It is confidence grounded in Someone greater than circumstances.
The Gospel has been saying this long before it was ever set to music. The psalmist confessed that “God is our refuge and strength, a present help in times of trouble,” and “therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains are shaken into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2). Jesus Himself looked at anxious followers and told them not to let their hearts be troubled, because trust in God still stands even when the world feels unstable (John 14:1). Paul wrote from confinement that the peace of God, which surpasses human understanding, guards hearts and minds in Christ Jesus when prayer replaces panic (Philippians 4:6-7).
Notice the pattern. Assurance does not come from pretending storms are not real. It comes from remembering who reigns over them. Faith does not shout louder than fear; it stands calmer. It lifts its eyes. It refuses to believe that the latest crisis is the final chapter.
To say everything’s gonna be all right is not to minimize grief, injustice, or loss. It is to place them in their proper frame. It is to remember that resurrection follows crucifixion, that light still shines in darkness, and that the darkness has never managed to overcome it (John 1:5). Christians are not called to be naïve optimists; we are called to be grounded witnesses. We grieve, but not as those without hope. We struggle, but not as those without a Savior. He’s coming back.
So when the days feel heavy and the news feels relentless, let that simple line do its quiet work. Let it point you beyond slogans and sentiment to the deeper truth beneath it. In Christ, the end is already written. The victory is already secured. The love of God is already poured out. And because of that, even in trying times, we can say it without irony and without fear: everything’s gonna be all right.
____________
Lord Jesus, steady our hearts when the world feels unsteady. Teach us to trust You more than our fears and to rest in Your promises. Help us live as people of calm hope, confident that You are making all things new. Amen.
BDD
