It is well....

Taken at 3:00 p.m. outside my home in Southern California
As I am preparing this post, the fires in Southern California are burning out of control. It is Tuesday, October 21, 2007 and outside my home about 12 miles away, a new fire has begun to burn. It is on the high side of the mountain which boarders our town. The flames are moving our way. I feel anxious about the implication.

I have watched this mountain burn twice in the last eight years since moving to California. I never felt afraid during those fires. Today is different; there is no one to help. Every firefighter in the state mobilized yesterday and is combating the terrible fires in San Diego. The frightful winds continue to blow with a fury. I continue to fret and to worry.

Today, I sit at my computer listening to the howling outside. Somehow through the noise, I hear God calling softly to me in this moment. I answer Him.

Lord, this is a moment of truth. Father, I am grappling with the real possibility of leaving my home knowing it may burn to the ground. I hear You asking me some serious questions. Am I holding too tightly to the things of this world? Have possessions become a God to me?

Lord, I have not faced this particular trial. I know others have and under far worse circumstances, but for me today, it is very real. You have brought front-and-center fears and insecurities that I hide from everyone, even from myself.

Today Lord, I surrender my earthly possessions. They will not be a God in my heart. If I leave today with only my family and my Bible, it is well with my soul.

2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
Isaiah 43:2

IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blessed assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with 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!

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

- Words by Horatio G. Spafford, 1873
- Music by Philip P. Bliss, 1876

The words to this hymn was written after two major traumas in Spafford's life. The first was the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871, which ruined him financially. Shortly after, while crossing the Atlantic, all four of Spafford's daughters died in a collision with another ship. Spafford's wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram: "SAVED ALONE." Several weeks later, as Spafford's own ship passed near the spot where his daughters died, he was inspired to write these words.

I would love to visit with you over at my place: Spiritually Unequal Marriage.