Year: It was written in 1973 and released on their album "Pass It On."
Unusual Circumstances: While the exact inspiration behind the hymn is not specified, in March 2014, Geron Davis recounted the following story during a concert in New Zealand regarding him walking on the Mount of Olives in Israel in 1973:
_"My wife and I went to Israel in ’73 and I said to her, ‘I just gotta have some time alone.’ So I just left and started to walk to the Mount of Olives. It’s very hot; I’m all sticky and sweaty. You’ve seen all these rocks there. I just got to the top and I stood on this rock and I looked down at the old ancient olive trees and everything and, you know, a breeze come blowing across my sweaty and my face and there was a whisper of angels’ wings all around. I didn’t see any angels, I didn’t hear anything, but I felt angels all around and my heart just about burst.
And I felt like that day, it came from somewhere outside because it was not something I could’ve produced. And in that moment, we’re gonna sing you a song about it. It was so overwhelming that I came running down and when I got back to the hotel I said to my wife, ‘You won’t believe what happened.’ She said, ‘What?’ And I said, ‘I’ve got to write a song right now.’
So I sit down at the piano in our room and I didn’t have a pen or anything, so I grabbed her lipstick. I had lipstick all over my face and wrote it out. Every word of it; just came like that"_
While this personal account provides context and inspiration for the hymn's lyrics, it's important to note that the hymn's interpretation and significance can vary among individuals and faith communities.