It is Well, by Horario Spafford
Intro to the Series
I recently got the idea to reflect on and share some of my favorite songs for hard, terrible, trying times. I'm coming out of one of the hardest work seasons in my life and now beginning this time of trouble with the virus.
Each day I'm able, I will post another song, a reflection, and a couple of videos of that song. I will add the songs to a YouTube playlist called Songs for Terrible Times.
I want to share some of my go-to songs, the ones that consistently minister to my heart in the worst of times. They are released in no particular order. Please comment below about songs that you turn to when there are no easy answers, quick solutions, and life feels dark.
The Playlist
HERE is the YouTube Playlist that I am creating and adding to each day, adding songs from the blogs I will put out.
Reflections
Read the lyrics slowly, check out the history of the song, and enjoy a version that speaks to you. Or, wait until tomorrow for a song that better fits your mood/needs.
Intro to the Series
I recently got the idea to reflect on and share some of my favorite songs for hard, terrible, trying times. I'm coming out of one of the hardest work seasons in my life and now beginning this time of trouble with the virus.
Each day I'm able, I will post another song, a reflection, and a couple of videos of that song. I will add the songs to a YouTube playlist called Songs for Terrible Times.
I want to share some of my go-to songs, the ones that consistently minister to my heart in the worst of times. They are released in no particular order. Please comment below about songs that you turn to when there are no easy answers, quick solutions, and life feels dark.
The Playlist
HERE is the YouTube Playlist that I am creating and adding to each day, adding songs from the blogs I will put out.
Two Versions I Really Enjoy
Reflections
What I love in this song is the repetition. “It is well, It is well with my soul..”. We need to repeat this over and over in hard times. We need to push back against what is coming against us. Shame, fear, panic, stress, our perception of failure, loss, and death threaten to distract us from the truth—in Jesus, it is well with our souls. It is a prayer of protest against the power of sin, the world and the Emeny himself.
We need the constant reminder that "It is well". If we are in Christ, it is constantly well with our soul. We are saved, sealed with the Spirit, and God will restore all things, and we have some powerful unchanging truths to lean on, which the song explores. The fact that this reminder is set to a melody makes it all the easier to remember. This song is a gift.
It begins by envisioning two very different scenes: peace like a river, and sorrows rolling into our life in waves (sea billows). Regardless of what is rolling into our lives, it is well.
The song holds other images before our troubled soul:
Satan seems to win
Trials keep coming
We get focused on our sin
We are overwhelmed as if the Jordan River were rolling over us
Power Thoughts in the Song
The song explores "5 power thoughts"
Power Thoughts in the Song
The song explores "5 power thoughts"
- In good (peace like a river) and bad (sorrows like sea billows) times, God the Father teaches us to really believe it is well
- Even if Satan is having field day, even if trials comes, Jesus has regarded (cared for, respected) our difficulties, and shed blood for us
- Our sin is obliterated in Christ. Period.
- In the hardest times, -get this- the Lord will whisper peace directly into our soul. What?! Amazing. But we need to get still, slow down to let this get into our soul. Silence Stillness and Solitude are helpful practices to get all of these songs to sink in.
- The Lord is coming to renew all things, gather us to himself, and bring heaven to fruition. When he does, it will be excitement and fulfillment on a level we have not conceived. That is a power thought. (For more on this, read or listen to Heaven by Randy Alcorn. It is a thorough, deep, and inspiring vision of and answer to our questions about Heaven) Spafford spends two verses on the coming of heaven in this song. He wraps it all up in the original version like this: "a song in the night, o my soul". Whoa! That is powerful in our current day and age. Do we not feel a strangeness and deep darkness about this virus?
If we did nothing for 10 minutes but repeat these five power thoughts, we would shift our mood and mindset. If we sang this song all day, we would look to our Creator more. We would live a bit better. That's why this song is so good to start this series with.
Read the lyrics slowly, check out the history of the song, and enjoy a version that speaks to you. Or, wait until tomorrow for a song that better fits your mood/needs.
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to knowa
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, 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.
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!
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.
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.
And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
A song in the night, oh my soul!b
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to knowa
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, 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.
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!
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.
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.
And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
A song in the night, oh my soul!b
- a "know" (at the end of the third line) was changed to "say".
- b "A song in the night, oh my soul" (last line) was changed to "Even so, it is well with my soul".
More blog content Mondays and Wednesdays, new podcasts Fridays. Follow @maninmanyroles on Twitter. Subscribe to email notifications using the button at the top of this page. Please comment below what was helpful to you.
The latest Man in Many Roles Podcast:
Michael, I love this reflection. You are truly gifted. Keep it up, and thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete