It is Well with My Soul

I had an "out of the mouth of babes" moment a couple of weeks ago. I was driving in the car with my six-year-old in the back seat. The song "Gonna Be Alright" by Ryan Ellis came on KLove. The chorus of the song says, "Everything's gonna be alright, everything's gonna be alright. You hold me in Your arms, until the storm is gone."

From the backseat, my little theologian muses, "I kind of agree with this song, and I kind of don't. Because sometimes things aren't alright, like when you break a bone or something, but I guess it's alright because in the end we'll be with God in Heaven, right?"

My mouth fell open comically. Not a comment I expected from age six! But, well, he's not wrong, is he?

We go through a lot in this life. And it's not always "alright" in the sense that bad things happen. There are crises, traumas, natural disasters, racism, war, poverty, hunger...

But, God is still God. God is still good. And in the end, everything will be alright. 

A couple of days ago, also on KLove, one of the DJs shared the story behind the classic hymn, "It is Well with My Soul". I looked it up later - it's quite a powerful story. The song was written by Horatio G. Spafford in 1873. Spafford was a wealthy man who lived with his wife and five children in Chicago. Then, a series of tragedies hit him at once. His youngest, his only son, died of scarlet fever. Then he lost most of his fortune in the Chicago Fire of 1871. Despite these tragedies, Spafford, a Christian man, decided to keep his commitment to join D.L. Moody in England for planned revival meetings. He sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him on the sea journey while he dealt with the aftermath in Chicago. Yet tragedy struck once again as the boat carrying his family got into an accident, and all four of his daughters died. Only his wife survived.

When Spafford sailed to meet his wife in England, the captain of his boat knew about what had happened. He pulled Spafford up on deck at the point where the accident had happened and the sea had claimed his daughters. As he stood looking out at the ocean waves, Spafford wrote these words:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well with my soul.

Despite the grief and the loss and the pain he must have been experiencing, his faith gave him peace enough to say, "It is well with my soul."

When I heard this true story, I immediately thought of the story of Job from the Old Testament. Job also lost his children and everything he owned, so only he and his wife remained. As he sat in mourning, even his health began to fail. Through it all, he was able to submit to God and continue to believe. He refused to spite or curse God, or to turn his back on Him. The first recorded words from Job are these:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb,

and naked I will depart.

The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;

may the name of the LORD be praised." (Job 1:21)

And in this, the Bible says, "Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing" (1:22).

Job is considered to be the oldest book of the Bible. It is likely Job even predated Abraham. Whether the book of Job is a historical event or merely an allegorical story has been largely debated throughout Christian history. I'm not sure it matters either way - I think what matters is the lesson we learn from Job. The lesson that, even in calamity, God is still worthy to be praised.  Job knew this. Spafford knew this. Ryan Ellis knows this. Even, apparently, does my six-year-old.

Author and speaker Priscilla Shirer states the way to keep focused on God is to remember who the enemy is. We have an enemy, one who prowls like a lion looking to devour, who seeks to destroy us and God's plans for us, but our enemy is not one another. It is not the other political party or people of other religions or whoever the "others" are in our life. It is not the church or other Christians. If we keep sight of who the true enemy is, casting blame where blame is due, it is easier to keep our focus on God.

We also keep our focus on God through maintaining our relationship with Him. Through continuing to go to church and worship Him and read our Bibles and pray. We continue to grow in a Christian community of believers who - hopefully - help to carry the weight of the pain we carry.

It is well with my soul doesn’t mean it doesn't hurt. It doesn’t mean we don't have questions or confusion or even anger. 

It is well with my soul means troubles turn us towards God, not away from Him. It is well with my soul means keeping our eyes on Him, not the wind and the waves which threaten to drown us. It is well with my soul means everything's gonna be alright, because He holds us in His arms until the storm is calm. It is well with my soul means even when we're in a rough season, we can continue to love God and love others, because we know the end of the story.

Which leads me to the closing words of Spafford's song:

But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.