When things are far from alright…
It is Well - Matt Redman
My post today was inspired when listening to Matt Redman’s song, It is Well. You can listen to it yourself on Youtube (at the foot of this blog post) but just in case you can’t here are the lyrics:
Our scars are a sign of grace in our lives, Oh Father how You brought us through When deep were the wounds and dark was the night The promise of Your love You proved Now every battle still to come, Let this be our song: It is well with my soul, It is well, It is well with my soul Weeping may come, Remain for a night, But joy will paint the morning sky You're there in the fast, You’re there in the feast Your faithfulness will always shine; Now every blessing still to come. Let this be our song: It is well with my soul, It is well, It is well with my soul You lead us through battles, You lead us to blessing And You make us fruitful, In the land of our suffering, God It is well with my soul, It is well, It is well with my soul I trust Your ways, I trust Your Name, It is well, It is well with my soul
It is easy to trust, be positive and hopeful when things are going well but life isn’t always a bed of roses. At the moment many are worried about their health, the health of loved ones, paying the mortgage and other bills. Today I heard that car parks in the New Forest are closing and that their public conveniences will be shut.
How can we experience a sense of peace and well-being during such unprecedented times?
I cannot tell you how you will deal with things but I can share with you how I do. Throughout my life I have had to deal with many difficulties and serious traumas These ranged from losing a child to losing my home but my trust in God always brought me these difficult times. As difficulty after difficulty presented themselves I found that I built trust muscles which made me spiritually fitter for the next time a calamity reared its ugly head. Hopefully, like the words I have put in bold in Matt Redman’s song, you will also experience God being with you during this crisis and this will get you through these tough times.
One particular verse from the Bible helps me time after time and I would like to finish by sharing it with you. These words were written by a man who had been shipwrecked, attacked by a mob, spent time in prison and had to cope with many more unpleasant situations. If you want to check them out for yourself the reference is Romans 8 verse 37,38:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
