Song of the Month: Four Days Late

     Aaron Wilburn makes his living as a comedian. You may have caught him at a Gaither Homecoming or…You may even know some of his jokes… (There was a lady who made the nicest pies with the neatest crust patterns— achieved by taking out her false teeth and pressing their pattern into the pastry!) But this gentleman is a musician with the heart of a poet—his song writing has brought him Dove awards and Grammy nominations and his home state of Alabama honored him with an exhibit in their Music Hall of Fame, along with Jake Hess and Vestal Goodman.
     From an interview in 2009 comes this quotation: “I am a word lover. I love words, I love rhymes. I love what a spoken line can do as far as affecting an audience. The spoken word can become a healer. A lot of times my spoken words in my humor bring laughter. Words are such an important vehicle, and I’m sure that’s the reason the Bible teaches us to watch the words that you speak, because they will affect yourself and other people.”
      One song in particular has become a Southern Gospel classic and in the year 2000 it was the Song of the Year: Four Days Late. iTunes lists the composers as “Roberta Wilburn/ C. Aaron Wilburn.” Others have sung it, including Aaron himself, but the most notable rendition seems to be that by Karen Peck and New River. Karen was asked if she gets tired of singing Four Days Late but her reply was, “I will sing that song until the day the Lord calls me home.” Again, it was Aaron himself who said to her, “You need to record it.” Three months later, when she actually did record the song, she says that after the piano intro and she sang out the first line, “The news came to Jesus…” she knew and even the drummer said, “Boy this is a powerful song.” To summarize the message of the song:— God’s time is the right time!

The news came to Jesus, “Please come fast.

Lazarus is sick and without Your help he will not last.”
Mary and Martha watched their brother die.
They waited for Jesus;
He did not come,
And they wondered why.

The death watch was over—Buried four days.

Somebody said, “He'll soon be here, the Lord's on His way.”
Martha ran to Him and then she cried,
“Lord, if you had been here
You could have healed him—
He'd still be alive!”

“But You're four days late

And all hope is gone.

Lord we don't understand why You've waited so long.”
But His way is God's way
Not yours or mine.
When He's four days late, He's still on time.

Jesus said, “Martha, show me the grave.”

But she said, “Lord, You don't understand—
He's been there four days!”
The grave stone was rolled back,
Then Jesus cried, “Lazarus come forth!”
Then somebody said,
“He's alive, He's alive!”

You may be fighting a battle of fear

You've cried to the Lord, “I need You now!”
But He has not appeared.
Friend don't be discouraged
‘Cause He's still the same.
He'll soon be here, He'll roll back the stone
And He’ll call out your name.      Ì