It is Well

What would it look like if we were completely content in the Lord and in Him alone? 


Really. Truly. Just, content. It is so easy to mistake contentment in Christ with contentment of circumstances. How many of you find that when things are all going just great for you (great grades, well-paying job, encouraging friends) it is so easy to praise His name? I want to tell you that true contentment is a byproduct of inner peace. This peace surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7). It is hard for our earthly minds to conceive this kind of peace! For example, imagine if you were a student and you worked extremely hard the whole semester to earn the grade you needed for a class and ended up failing the course. Your reaction when someone asked you about it is, "Well, I guess I'll just try again next semester."  No freaking out. No panicking. No thoughts that the world is coming to an end. Just peace because of the Lord's many promises to us. People would probably think you were CRAZY! and I love that. It's not that you are ignoring the issue at all and saying, "That happened, but NO IT DIDN'T" because truth is you could be upset about it, but your trust in the Lord and His mighty plan for you far outweighs your fear of the world or fear of failure.


Okay, so an incredible example of this kind of contentment that you might have heard of is in the life and hymn produced by Horatio Spafford. The hymn I am referring to is "It is Well with My Soul." Horatio wrote it after two traumas happened in his life. The first was the Great Chicago fire of 1871 that ruined him financially. Second, he planned to travel to Europe with his family but send them to go ahead without him because he was delayed on business and all 4 of his daughters died because of a collision with a sailing ship. His wife sent him a telegram that read, "Saved alone..." When Horatio went to console his grieving wife he passed by the place of the accident and wrote these powerful words...

1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
   When sorrows like sea billows roll;
   Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
   It is well, it is well, with my soul.
   • Refrain:
     It is well, with my soul,
     It is well, it is well, with my soul.
2. 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.
3. 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!
4. For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
   If Jordan above me shall roll,
   No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
   Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
5. 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!
6. And Lord, haste the day when my 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

Yes, Lord. This is my desire. More of You, less of me.

Leigh Ann