The Wonder of the Cross – 40 Days with the Music of Vicky Beeching
Day 13 – Wednesday after Lent 2 – At All Times
To Read:
From the Scriptures:
1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to my servant David:
4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever
and build your throne for all generations.’ Selah
(Psalm 89v1-2)
From Vicky Beeching:
At All Times
In the summer of life, in the laughter and light
I will love You, I will trust You
When I’m weary and dry, in the souls darkest night
I will love You, I will trust You
You are my strength and my song
Always giving me hope to go on
And at all times I will sing in Your greatness
And at all times I will sing of Your love
And at all times I will say You are faithful
For Your goodness remains and Your love is the same at all times
On the mountain of joy where the view is so clear
I will love You, I will trust You
When I feel all alone in the valley of tears
I will love You, I will trust You
You are my strength and my song
Always giving me hope to go on
Chorus
Whatever life brings still I will sing
You are good, You are good, You are good
Whatever life brings still I will sing
You are good, You are good, You are good
Whatever life brings still I will sing
You are good, You are good, You are good
Chorus – repeats
To Listen: ‘At All Times’ by Vicky Beeching
To Reflect:
At ‘all’ times? Come off it Vicky! Yes I know you, like a latter-day Psalmist somehow seem to always be able to bubble over with praise and worship but we can’t put a smiley face on life and sing God’s praises every day. Or can we…
Vicky, with her Psalmist side-kick, says ‘What else are we to do?’ Having found our home with the One Who Loves us Best we, like our Christ, have nowhere else to lay our head. Yes, there will be times of despair – along with ‘the mountain of joy where the view is so clear’ we will ‘feel all alone in the valley of tears’ – but how can else can we respond other than sing, even if with a faltering voice and discordant notes, ‘I will love You, I will trust You’.
Just a short look at Vicky’s journey through life will show us that she has had her fair share (some would even say unfair share) of Valleys and darkness. Life has not always been all bubbles and joy, yet I suspect that she herself might whisper, ‘Yes, At all Times, even when weary and dry and shrouded by darkness.’
With Simon Peter and the rest of the Disciples, abandoned by fair-weather followers who are not really looking for the Bread that gives life, we too proclaim ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life’.(cf. John 6v22-71).
Mountaintop or dark valley, bright summer day or deepest night, there is no-one else to go to, no-one else to guide us, no-one else to feed us, no-one else to hold us. And, hopefully sooner rather than later, it is in the dark and difficult, lonely and sad places that we truly learn that;
Your goodness remains and Your love is the same
….at all times.
We can’t always live in the light, the world and (I suspect if we are honest) our old self, won’t let us. But when we are not on bright sunlit mountaintops we can still, even if a little feebly, sing the praises of the One who out of love for us walked towards darkness and returned singing ‘Alleluia’!
To Pray:
Thou brightness of eternal glory,
Thou comforter of the pilgrim soul,
with Thee is my tongue without voice,
and my very silence speaketh unto Thee.
Come, oh, come;
for without Thee I shall have no joyful day or hour;
for Thou art my joy,
and without Thee my table is empty.
Praise and glory be unto Thee;
let my mouth, my soul, and all creatures together,
praise and bless Thee.
(Thomas à Kempis)
To Do:
That dark place that you’re frightened of visiting or that you can’t escape. Next time you find yourself there take this song with you.
oooOOOooo
If you would like to find out more about Vicky and her work here is a link to her Wikipedia entry. For a fuller picture her autobiography ‘Undivided’ is highly recommended
Please Note: These reflections are also published on my blog: suffolkvicarhomes.com on Bluesky as @suffolkvicar.bsky.social, and on my public Facebook page Suffolk Vicar – Rev Andrew Dotchin.
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Acknowledgements:
These Reflections, ‘The Wonder of the Cross – 40 Days with the Music of Vicky Beaching’ are copyright © Andrew Dotchin 2026 and may be reproduced without charge on condition that their source is acknowledged.
All of the music on the video clips are from YouTube and are © Vicky Beeching.
If you enjoy listening to her songs please consider buying her recordings. A full discography and other information about Vicky can be found on her website vickybeeching.com.
Scripture quotations are from The New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Prayers are from A Diary of Prayer compiled by Elizabeth Goudge and are copyright © 1966 The Estate of Elizabeth Goudge.
Suffolk Vicar 