It Is Well

Last week, Ashley and I went to the Casting Crowns concert.  (It’s so hard to believe that only a week has passed since then – so much has taken place in our lives since last Sunday). 

Before the concert, as we were walking through the halls to our Meet & Greet opportunity, I noticed this t-shirt on display at one of the Kutless booths:

I’m not one who usually even thinks of purchasing a t-shirt; but since we didn’t pay anything for our tickets, I thought it might be ok.  And this t-shirt really caught my eye.  It reminded me of my friend, Sue.  It had been one of her mother’s favorite hymns.  So, after the concert, when Ashley went to buy her t-shirt, I was going to get this one.  BUT IT WAS SOLD OUT!  Ugh!

Earlier this week, I looked at Kutless’ website and found it for sale there (actually cheaper than it was at the concert).  I contemplated purchasing it, but didn’t.  Then, when Sue passed away, I thought even more about this shirt. 

This morning, I received this e-mail from my friend Carolyn:

March 6, 2010

Is It Well?

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READ: Philippians 4:4-7

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. —Philippians 4:7

As the high school chorale prepared to sing Horatio G. Spafford’s classic hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul,” a teen stepped forward to tell the song’s familiar history. Spafford wrote the song while on a ship that was near the spot at sea where his four daughters perished.

As I listened to that introduction and then the words sung by the teenagers, a flood of emotions washed over me. “Where his four daughters perished” were hard words to grasp as I listened again to Spafford’s words of faith. Having lost one daughter suddenly, I find the idea of losing four unfathomable.

How could it be “well” for Spafford in his grief? I hear the words “When peace like a river attendeth my way” and remember where peace can be found. Paul says in Philippians 4 that it can be found as our heart-prayers are voiced to God (v.6). By trustful praying, we unburden our hearts, divest our anxieties, and release the grip on our grief. And we can gain “the peace of God” (v.7)—an inexplica ble, divine calmness of spirit. This peace supersedes our ability to understand our circumstances (v.7), and it is a guard on our heart, through Jesus, that protects us enough to allow us to whisper, even in the pain, “It is well with my soul.” —Dave Branon

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. —Spafford

Jesus never makes a mistake.

It’s like this song is stalking me or something. 
Needless to say, I ordered the shirt! (The cheapskate in me was pretty excited too – even with shipping, it was still $3 cheaper than they were selling it for at the concert!)