When It isn’t Well With Your Soul

We sang, “It is Well With My Soul” Sunday morning. I remember, as a child, sitting between my mother and grandmother and hearing their beautiful harmonies as we all belted out this beautiful hymn. The song was written by Horatio Spafford in 1873 after the traumatic loss of his precious children. I sing the words wholeheartedly each time until I can’t. Without fail, I always tear up halfway through.

I need to admit something. It’s not always well with my soul. I wish I could tell you that life is full of joy, peace, and great things and my mind is constantly focused on heaven and the eternal benefits of walking with Jesus but I can’t. I struggle with the darkness. I hurt with those who grieve and those who are constantly bombarded with evil. I ache for those who have yet to follow Jesus. I get furious at those who call themselves Christian yet refuse to love and serve the poor. I’m disgusted by those who proclaim political candidates and their promises more than their Savior. I wish it was always well with my soul but I think we need to be real with each other. It wasn’t well with my soul when I sat beside the bed of a friend who had, thankfully, failed at their suicide. It wasn’t well with my soul when I sat with one of my favorite twelve year olds in her hospice room. It wasn’t well with my soul when I stood by the graves of my parents or my teenage cousin. It wasn’t well with my soul when my friend who is in remission and caring for her dying husband shared that her son had been diagnosed with cancer. Yes, there are seasons when it is well with my soul but there are times when it is not. So what can we do when life takes us to those moments when it isn’t?

Walk with Jesus. Spend time with the words in red. Follow him around the pages of your Bible. See how he lived and loved others. Watch as he experiences his own times when it wasn’t well with his soul.

Boldly stand before the throne of God and tell him the troubles of your heart. Be honest. He can handle it.

Walk with Jesus people. Surround yourself with those who know and love him. Find a church that welcomes and loves the poor, lonely, and mistreated. Align yourself with those who are good at loving their enemies and reaching out to people who look, live, and sin differently.

Refuse to give up or give into the darkness.

Admit that life is hard and we need each other to get through it. Don’t turn your back on Church even though she has her faults. Accept the fact that you need each other.

It may not always be well with our soul and that’s ok. It proves that we love and that’s why we’re here.