It is
Well
By Brita Crouse
“Since I know
it is all for Christ's good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with
insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am
strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:10 (NLT)
A couple of years ago, I was sitting
in church, and as the pastor began speaking, he opened up by telling the
congregation that this sermon was going to be on suffering. I could feel my
body going rigid and my mind putting up mental walls to tune out what he was
saying because I did not want to hear this. But then, I heard that still, small
voice nudging me to listen because I might just learn something.
I am currently experiencing a
“season of suffering,” so, the fact that this pastor was preaching on this very
topic, convicted me about my attitude toward an unwanted obstacle that is being
used to tell others about God. Suffering seems to mean certain things to
different people. It’s not experienced the same for everyone and everyone
handles it differently, but it is something that everyone has, or will,
experience.
Horatio Spafford, the writer of the
popular hymn “It is Well with My Soul,” experienced an immense amount of
suffering. He was ruined financially because of the Chicago fire, and on top of
that lost all of his children, either to illness or drowning. He lost so much,
yet remained faithful to God and was prompted to go on and write one of the
most well-known hymns of all time. His suffering was used by God to reach
millions of others over decades and generations through this powerful song.
When God makes us weak through
periods of insult, hardship, persecution, or calamity, it gives us the
opportunity to fully depend on Him. He is the only one who can provide us true
comfort and strength.
“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.”
This is one of my favorite verses
from “It is Well...” because it encourages us to be faithful to God, in good
times and in bad. So whether you are experiencing “peace like a river” or
“sorrows like sea billows,” remember to always depend on God, for when we are
weak, then we are strong in Him.
GOING DEEPER:
1.
Are you or someone close to you experiencing a
season of suffering? How is God using you to glorify Him through this time?
2.
Listen to the hymn “It is Well with My Soul” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80x6wDi9umY)
every day this week. What words or lines apply to you specifically right now?
FURTHER READING:
Brita recently graduated with her Master’s in
Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She has
called Oakwood her home church for the past eighteen years.
