Lyrics
Afterwhile
This too shall pass afterwhile.
Scars will heal. You'll love again.
It won't hurt, you afterwhile. It won't hurt afterwhile.
Stuck between 'if' and 'when,' you prayed and tried, but still no end.
God's purpose soon, you'll understand.
It won't hurt you afterwhile.
(one day it won't)
It won't hurt afterwhile.
Afterwhile
Afterwhile
This too shall pass, afterwhile.
Scars will heal, you'll love again. It won't hurt afterwhile.
So when the pain has come to end, and now your heart is whole again, help someone who needs to know,
that it won't hurt them afterwhile.
It won't hurt them afterwhile.
It won't hurt them afterwhile.
God's promise After while Suffering will end. Amen
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
“Afterwhile” frames suffering as temporary without minimizing its weight. Images of scars healing, love returning, and a wounded heart becoming whole give the song a steady message of hope. Its repeated assurance that pain will not last suggests confidence in God’s care while allowing room for the difficult interval between prayer and relief. The lyric does not offer a timetable; instead, it points toward endurance and eventual restoration.
The closing movement turns personal recovery into compassion. Once pain has ended, the healed person is urged to help someone else who needs the same assurance. That progression gives the song a communal dimension: comfort received becomes comfort shared. The theme aligns closely with biblical passages about sorrow giving way to joy and God bringing an end to suffering. Repetition of the title phrase functions like a patient confession of faith, while the final “Amen” places that hope within prayerful trust.
Related Scripture
- Psalm 30:5 The psalm contrasts temporary weeping with the joy that follows.
- Revelation 21:4 The passage promises an end to death, mourning, crying, and pain.