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)
This
past Sunday, 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 is currently
working toward her Master’s in Counseling at the University of Minnesota-Twin
Cities. She has called Oakwood her home church for the past seventeen years.
