It Is Well

One year ago, my message for the NC Fisheries Association magazine, “Tradewinds” was about the aftereffects of Hurricane Florence. Never did I imagine that 1 year later I would be writing about the aftereffects of yet another hurricane, this time Dorian. The focus of my message last year was on waters that effect not the body, but the soul.

“Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.” (Psalm 69:1-2).

Waters to the Old Testament Hebrew represented trouble and turmoil. Like a winter chill that gets into the bones, we must be careful not to allow the waters, the trouble and turmoil of this world to get into our souls.

The New Testament peace is defined as the tranquility of soul that can only come through Jesus Christ as our Savior. With Christ as our inner peace, external factors have little or no effect on our state of being. For as Jesus said while praying to God, the saved are, “not of the world, even as I (Jesus) am not of the world.” (John 17:16). The natural world has no power over the supernatural Christ inside of us.

As Jesus continued in prayer to God about the saved, “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one (John 17:23). Jesus is our nature and our essence. We are one in Him in peace.

Remember the song written by Horatio Spafford, “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,

It is well, it is well with my soul”

Horatio Spafford was a successful lawyer and investor in Chicago during the 19^th century. The Great 1871 Chicago fire wiped out his business, investments and killed his 2-year-old son. 2 years later Spafford sent his wife and four daughters to Europe while he stayed behind tying up loose ends, planning on following his family a short while later. The boat carrying Spafford’s family sank, killing his 4 daughters. His wife sent a telegram from Paris that read, “Saved alone what shall I do.” [sic]

As Spafford passed by where the vessel sank killing his daughters, the words to “It Is Well” came to mind. Here are the original lyrics.

"When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know, It is well, it is well, with my soul."

We can’t always control external circumstances. Bad things happen in this life. But we can control what happens inside of us, with our spirit, mind, and soul.  If we remain in Christ, in faith, although the world around us may be falling apart, it will be well with our soul. We will have peace with Christ.

Some ask how God lets bad things happen to good people. A better question to ask is how could man, who was living in paradise, who literally walked and talked with God, how could man then sin against God?  Man had it made! Adam and Eve lived in perfection, communing daily with the Creator of all things, and yet they rebelled. How could they do bad things while living in Eden?

God didn’t do evil. He can’t. Man brought it upon himself. But ever since the fall of man, God has been showing us the way back to righteousness, the way back to salvation, the way back to Him.

Let’s look at the equation. On one side we have God who is holy, righteous, and perfect. God can do no wrong, He cannot sin, nor can He lie. He never changes, he is the same “yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). God is omnipotent and omnipresent. He is from everlasting to everlasting. God is, and He always has been, and He always will be, the Holy and Righteous God.

On the other side of the equation we have the problem, man. He is none of those things that are God.

“As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him” (Psalm 18:30). He is a, “God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4b).

Hurricanes are going to happen. The tide will rise, the wind will blow, and the rain will pour in a deluge. The only question we have during a hurricane is if a tornado is going to drop out of the sky or not. I don’t know of a single prayer that will permanently stop these things from happening. But I do know how to have peace when all is in chaos around me. Remember how Jesus was sound asleep on the boat when everyone was in a panic whilst the boat was being tossed at sea during a storm? Jesus is peace.

Understand this, God is not the author of confusion. The devil is. The devil can control those who are panicked. Of all the different states of emotion we have read about in the Bible that Jesus was in, never have we read that Jesus was in a state of panic. Jesus is peace, He is our peace. He can’t panic. 

So, on this day I ask you to rid yourself of panic, to find peace, and to have all well with your soul. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Bill Hitchcock