Sara Jordan Powell, When Jesus Comes | Music Lifts

In the 6^th edition of Music Lifts (2023), we’re uplifted by gospel musician Sara Jordan Powell performing, “When Jesus Comes To Stay.”

Welcome to Music Lifts , a column that seeks to highlight songs that encourage, inspire, and uplift the spirit; songs that exude fortitude, positivity, and resolve, even in the face of adversity.  Featured songs aren’t genre-specific; songs may or may not be faith-based. The goal is for these songs to make you feel better – be LIFTED to new heights!  So, for the 6^th edition of Music Lifts (2023), we highlight “When Jesus Comes To Stay” (often known as “When Jesus Comes”) as performed by Sara Jordan Powell.

“One man sat all alone, beside the highway begging / His eyes were blind, the light he could not see.”  Those are the first words we hear in the beloved, Sara Jordan Powell (1938 – ) gospel classic, “When Jesus Comes To Stay”. As memorable as those lyrics, and the narrative that follows is, perhaps the most famous lyrics and portion of the song is when Powell repeatedly asserts, “He takes the gloom,” eventually completing the line, “And fills your life with glory.” Not only is it famous because of significance of the line – Jesus’ wonderworking power –  but also because Powell shows off her dynamic soprano .  She famously hits and sustains a high D-flat (on “fills”) that many who perform this song have attempted to nail as effortlessly (of course, renditions are in various keys, often C). Notably, Powell is filled with the spirit during this moment, and the parishioners likewise feel that spirit.

“When Jesus Comes To Stay” appears on her 1977 live album, When Jesus Comes, which recorded in Los Angeles in the West Angeles Church of God in Christ (more about the COGIC church here).  Notably, an abbreviated rendition also appears on the greatest hits compilation, The Best Of Sara Jordan Powell: When Jesus Comes, released in 1981. The big takeaway: let Jesus come to stay. Believe, serve, and trust Him, and he will take care of you.

Sara Jordan Powell • When Jesus Comes • Savoy • 1977

Sara Jordan Powell, “When Jesus Comes”: Music Lifts No. 6 (2022) [: Brent Faulkner/The Musical Hype; cottonbro studio, Itzel  Sandoval, Neeraj Nagdeve via Pexels]