God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. —Psalm 46:1
I am writing this on Election Day. There’s no telling what will have transpired and will still be transpiring when this devotional drops midday on Wednesday. With that whirlwind of unknowns churning in my body, mind, and spirit, I turn to a favorite hymn: “It Is Well With My Soul.” Its words were in my head most of last night with sleep coming only in spats, like the rain and wind tapping at my window…
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.”
What calms me even more than the hymn’s refrain—“It is well, it is well with my soul”—is the powerful perspective granted by its origin story. “It Is Well With My Soul” (also titled “When Peace, Like a River”) was written by a Presbyterian layperson from Chicago named Horatio G. Spafford. Prior to the Chicago Fire of 1871, Spafford invested heavily in real estate on the shore of Lake Michigan. His holdings were completely wiped out by the disaster. Desiring respite from that loss and rest for his family, Spafford planned a European trip in November of 1873. However, unexpected business developments kept him from joining his wife and four daughters on the scheduled voyage aboard the S.S. Ville du Havre. Spafford made plans to follow them in a few days. The ship was struck by an English vessel and sank in a matter of minutes. His daughters all drowned. His spouse survived. Spafford quickly left by ship to join his bereaved wife, and it is thought that when his boat reached the area on the sea where his children perished, he penned those words.
It is noteworthy that Spafford clings to hope in the midst of deep grief, writing, “It is well,” but it is even more faithful that the hymn’s subsequent verses focus on the triumphant arrival of Christ in spite of the present shadows looming over his life…
O God, speed the day that is filled with your light,
When clouds are rolled back as a scroll;
The trumpet shall sound and the Lord shall appear,
“even so”—it is well with my soul.
Spafford’s faithfulness carrying him through unthinkable tragedy is rooted in Jesus’ proclamation that “the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17). Jesus preached and taught about the utopian vision of God’s realm, where injustice is righted, the marginalized and oppressed are centered and cared for, neighbors are reconciled to one another, there is always more than enough to go around, all tears are wiped away, and, in short, all is well. Especially for the people Jesus was preaching to in his Sermon on the Mount, that vision seemed antithetical to reality. Still, Jesus said, “It’s not far off. The kingdom is here and now.”
Jesus called on people, then and now, to not accept current reality, with its fallible powers and principalities, as normal or final. Instead, he invited people to follow him into a new reality that is coming while also being simultaneously at hand. Faithfulness is understanding Jesus’ vision of God’s realm, where justice, mercy, and love are the norm, and where finality is replaced by eternal life, being real and present right now, in spite of any present circumstances to the contrary. The result of such undeterred belief is that temporal realities of despair give way to eternal promises of hope, “filled with light,” where “it is well with my soul.”
Julian of Norwich is quoted as writing, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” Yes, and faithfulness testifies that all shall be well because all is well. Just as the realm of God is coming and has drawn near, all shall be well because all is well. It’s going to be okay because it is. This is our ever-present hope in times of trouble. Let that reminder keep us steady in today’s sea billows, and upright in tomorrow’s light-filled day. No matter what, it is well, it is well with my soul.
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