As we honor Black History Month, we’re excited to launch a blog series titled The Gospel in Song: Theological Truths for Teenagers from Black Spirituals. This series highlights the rich theology, resilience, and faith woven into these timeless songs. We hope youth ministers and parents will be inspired to share the Black spirituals as tools for discipleship.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them from them all.” Psalm 34:18-19
I still remember that moment over 10 years ago. I was sitting in a coffee shop in Memphis, Tennessee. My headphones were ringing to gospel music, Tasha Cobbs Leonard to be exact. My journal was open, and my attention focused as I perused an interesting article articulating the relevance of the Christian faith in a secular culture. At that moment, a quote arrested my attention: “In God’s economy, for the believer, every pain, every problem, every apparent loss is purposely woven into a win.” I highlighted that sentence and stared out of the window, deep in thought. How could it be? Did I really believe this?
Personally, at this point in my life, it seemed as if everything was going awry. Having recently graduated from college, my professional dreams seemed dashed. I had witnessed youth that I had invested in spiritually succumb to the perils of drugs and gun violence, and the young lady I was courting let me know she was no longer interested. In short, I was a wreck.
How could a good God allow these situations in the life of a man who genuinely sought after him? While the pain did not instantly disappear, something happened in this season. I began to fall back in love with the gospel music I was raised on. My parents reminded me that they were once in a gospel band together, and I started to heavily rely upon the melodies of gospel music to empower me through my pain.
“Keep on Keepin’ On;” The Legacy of Negro Spirituals
As the years have passed, I’ve grown to see that I am no different than my ancestors who came before me. They relied upon music to express their sadness, pain, and devastation to a holy God. In so doing, supernatural encouragement was deposited within their souls and kept them “keepin’ on,” as they would say. That is the rich legacy of Negro spirituals.
Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen
Nobody knows my sorrow
Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen
Glory, Hallelujah
Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen
Nobody knows but Jesus
Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen
Glory, Hallelujah
These lyrics come from a Negro spiritual that was sung by enslaved Africans bearing the inhuman, unnatural, and satanic ills of slavery, beginning in the late 1500s. The spiritual, entitled “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen,” was popularized by the iconic African American trumpeter and vocalist, Louis Armstrong.
The Negro spirituals were birthed out of pain and became a balm for the emotional, physical, and spiritual abuses of American slavery. These spirituals are still speaking in 2025. They remind all people, especially Christians, that the pain of this life, if understood correctly, will fixate our gaze on the soon-coming King. The spirituals remind those with ears to hear that this life is not our home, but our home is found in the presence of Jesus Christ. Not only do the spirituals fix our gaze upon Jesus, but they also urge the believer to take hold of the Holy Spirit-empowered strength to endure the trials of life with expectation.
That Legacy of Hope for Our Teenagers
As I consider the challenges of parenting teenagers and working with youth in 2025, it can seem the difficulties are endless. Culture opposes the truth of the gospel. Social media sprouts messages that preach life and happiness, but in truth lead to devastation and destruction. Our children are facing, in many cases, high levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. The theological hope that arises from the spirituals is that King Jesus not only understands our troubles, but has journeyed through them.
Therefore, with Jesus as our King and the Holy Spirit as a guide, I am persuaded that hope is alive and well. The lesson we learn as we reference the genius of Negro spirituals is that our God is ready and willing to come to our defense. The reality is that the greater the problem, the more God dispenses his power. The greater the grief, the greater our Lord pours his grace.
This leaves every parent, grandparent, or youth leader with a tremendous opportunity. While the world may seem out of control and society void of integrous godly leaders, optimism ought to be the heart posture of each of us. This is not to be confused with a worldly optimism that ignores reality, but an optimism rooted in Scripture. The writer of the book of Hebrews encourages his readers to consider Jesus, who is a high priest that is able to empathize and sympathize with us because he underwent every trial and temptation that we could ever face, yet he emerged victorious (Heb 4:14-16).The cross is our proof that Jesus is with us in our troubles; his resurrection is our confidence that as parents we can place our hope in him.
In another song, one recorded ages ago, written by the man of God David in the middle of dire circumstances, we get such encouragement: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them from them all” (Ps. 34:18-19). King David reminds us that our challenges invite God to draw near. But not only does our God draw near to us, he ensures that our trials will not destroy us. Instead, our Lord will deliver. What an inheritance we are entrusted to share with our youth!
Parents, in moments when you feel as if nobody understands the myriad challenges you face; or when your teenagers feel like no one understands the unique difficulties of growing up, we can all hold to the truth that our ancestors held to, “Nobody knows but Jesus!”
Check out the Rooted Parent Podcast for gospel-centered conversations about raising children.
