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Some of you know that old gospel-blues number:
Trouble in my way, I have to cry sometimes.
Trouble in my way, I have to cry sometimes.
I lay awake at night—but that’s alright,
Jesus will fix it after a while.
That “after a while” is where a whole lot of us live.
We’ve fasted, prayed, cried, waited… and the thing we asked for still hasn’t come. The sickness stayed. The door stayed closed. The verdict didn’t change. Heaven didn’t send the answer we wanted—sometimes not even a whisper.
Blues theology knows this territory. It doesn’t wrap it in pretty phrases or rush us into the happy ending. It says, Tell the truth—God is here even in the middle of the “no.” God’s presence doesn’t hinge on the outcome we were hoping for.
That’s not cheap hope. That’s hope with a limp. Hope that can stand in the graveyard and still sing.
When God Said “No” — and Didn’t Leave
The Bible is not short on unanswered prayers. Folks we call “heroes of faith” knew what it meant to get a “no” or a “not yet” from God.
Paul and the Thorn — 2 Corinthians 12:7–10
Paul prayed three times for God to take away his thorn in the flesh. We don’t know what it was, but we know it hurt. God’s reply? “My grace is sufficient for you. My power works best in weakness.” The thorn stayed. So did the grace.
Moses on Mount Nebo — Deuteronomy 34:1–5
Forty years of leadership. Sleepless nights shepherding a stubborn people. God let Moses see the Promised Land but not walk into it. The answer was “no,” but the love between them stayed—God Himself buried Moses.
David and the Child — 2 Samuel 12:15–23
David fasted and prayed for his sick child. Seven days later, the child died. David got up, washed, and worshiped. The loss was real, but so was his God.
John the Baptist in Prison — Matthew 11:2–6
Locked up, John sent word: “Are you the one?” Jesus sent proof of the Kingdom breaking in—but no word about prison doors swinging open. John died there. The Kingdom moved forward anyway.
Jesus in Gethsemane — Luke 22:41–44
“Father, if you’re willing, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will…” The cup wasn’t taken. But angels came to strengthen Him for what was ahead.
The Blues Already Knows This Story
The blues has been preaching this for over a century. It tells the truth without flinching. No quick fixes. No tidy endings. Just the raw ache and the stubborn pulse that keeps beating anyway.
This is why Trouble in My Way can shift from crying to trusting before the verse is even over. The singer knows “after a while” might not be tomorrow—but it’s coming.
When the City Had No Love
Bobby “Blue” Bland knew this language. In Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City, he’s not just singing about romance gone cold—he’s singing about absence, about the space where warmth used to live.
Ain’t no love in the heart of the city,
Ain’t no love in the heart of town.
Ain’t no love, and it’s sure ’nuff a pity—
Ain’t no love, ‘cause you ain’t around.
That’s what a “no” feels like sometimes. It’s not just that you didn’t get what you wanted—it’s that the air itself feels different without it. Cold. Empty.
But here’s the strange thing: by singing it, Bland turns that emptiness into company. He names the absence so we’re not alone in it. The song doesn’t change the city—but it changes the moment. It gives the sorrow somewhere to breathe.
Preaching When the Answer Is Still “No”
If you’re called to preach, you know there are people in your congregation who’ve lived through long seasons of unanswered prayer. They don’t need you to tie a bow on it. They don’t need you to pretend the “no” didn’t happen.
Blues preaching…
— Names the no. We don’t dodge it. We call it what it is—heartbreak, disappointment, loss.
— Points to presence. Even if the healing doesn’t come, the Healer is still here.
— Teaches meantime living. Worship from the prison cell. Lead even if you never cross the Jordan. Keep singing, thorn and all.
— Kills false timelines. “After a while” might be later than we want—but it will come.
It’s truth-telling with the lights on. It’s trusting God enough to stop performing for Him.
Why We Need This Now
We live in a moment where people are drowning in shallow promises: “Name it and claim it,” “Your breakthrough is around the corner,” “Just keep smiling.”
Some folks leave church not because they’ve stopped believing, but because they’re tired of being told they must have done something wrong if the answer didn’t come.
Blues preaching is the antidote. It says: You prayed, and you’re still waiting? You’re still loved. You’re still seen. You still belong.
Sometimes the testimony isn’t “God gave me what I wanted.” Sometimes it’s “God kept me when He didn’t.”
Closing Word
The witness of the Bible, the blues, and the saints before us is steady:
The thorn might not move. The prison might not open. The promised land might still be across the river.
But God will still be there. Grace will still be enough. And the song—your song—will still be worth singing.
That’s not defeat. That’s a faith strong enough to live through the “no” until God’s better “yes” comes walking down the road.
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