The next song for my Blog is a hymn that was written in 1873 by Horatio G. Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss. A link to Acapeldridge performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.
It Is Well With My Soul
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.
Refrain
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my
soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O 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!
This is such a powerful hymn of the peace that only Christ can bring. There are some days in our lives that are just amazing. These are the days when we are at peace and take the time to soak in everything God has been doing in our life. This is the type of day where you can take your cup of coffee or tea, step outside, and perhaps listen to the birds sing. Maybe you have some beautiful flowers or trees around for you to enjoy and maybe see squirrels at play. I can just imagine looking out over the banks of that soothing, gently flowing river and feeling the love and protection that only God can provide.
Unfortunately, we don’t seem to enjoy enough of these types of days since there are so many distractions in our lives. We have way too many days that are focused elsewhere and we do not feel as close to God. On these days, I can envision an angry ocean when the waves never seem to slow down and just keep crashing down; there is no peace in sight. All of us have these days in our lives and feel so alone and powerless against the trials we must face. The good news is that God is always with us to assure us that we are never alone, he understands and sees exactly what we are going through. We find his promise of blessed assurance in Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. No matter what we are facing, our soul and our eternity are in his hands and therefore all is well with our soul.
Our lives are full of trials and temptations. It is so hard to live in a world controlled by Satan and his minions. Every day we try to contain our anger, avoid envy and jealousy, tolerate those who do not act the way we think they should, kick bad habits, and basically try to stay out of trouble. I believe the writer chose the perfect word to describe our situation; we are certainly buffeted nonstop. God knew we could not fight these battles alone; he knew that Satan was stronger than us. To protect us, he sent his only son to live among us so he could share face to face the love he and our father have for us. After Christ lived with us on earth, his life was sacrificed so that our souls and our eternity would be secured. God knew we could never successfully face Satan alone, no matter how hard we tried, and that we needed a savior. By sending Jesus, God took away our helplessness and assured our eternity with him. We only need accept Jesus as our savior to secure our eternal life with him.
In looking at the third verse, it is almost as if the writer realized there was more to the story of Christ being nailed to the cross and dying for our sins. It is knowing that not only are our past, present, and future sins forgiven; they are also forgotten! Those sins died on the cross with Christ. Hebrews 10:17 tells us “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” God does not remind us of our sins and does not hold us accountable for our past, no strings attached once we are saved. Praise the Lord indeed, no wonder the writer repeats this phrase since he wants to send the message that he is truly a new person with no baggage in the eyes of Christ.
With the knowledge that God loves us in spite of all of our sins and our shortcomings, the writer now delivers the message that he is ready to come home. He is ready to leave a world of sin to begin his eternity with the father. He is not dreading physical death; he is anxious to take that next step on the journey of eternal life. Maybe the real question should be; how much longer do I have to wait instead of how much time to do I have left on this earth. We should all be ready for that second coming of Christ, when he comes to take his believers home, as shared in 1 Thes 4:17 Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Hopefully you have accepted Christ and are prepared for his return and are ready for that special home he has prepared for each of us in heaven. Maybe we will be one of the fortunate ones who sees those clouds roll back as a scroll and hear that trumpet announcing his return.
This song really drives home the point that with Christ, it is well with my soul not matter what challenges I face or what life I have lived.
Click Here to See Acapeldridge Perform It Is Well With My Soul