Sunday Evening

It is Well With My Soul
Lectionary Reading: Psalm 148

When it’s time to get ready to go on vacation, I make a list. It’s a long list, and it includes everything that I need to remember to pack – and I mean everything. I do not travel light. I always end up taking more with me than I could possibly need or use.

New Year’s Eve. Midnight. It’s that moment between what has been and what will be. It’s the bridge between the past and the future. It’s the one time of the year when life holds its breath, and waits, for just one second, to start fresh and new.

That step from the old year to the new year is a transition…a trip from what was to the possibilities of what could be. What should we pack? What should we take with us as we move into the future? I have a feeling, that unlike my normal traveling habits, for this trip I need to travel light.

What should we leave behind?

• Grudges – Are there people in your life who you need to forgive? Could you take the anger – the pain – the hurt, and give it to God? Could you step into the new year as a forgiving person, leaving behind the destructiveness of blame?
• Guilt – Is there something in your life for which you need to be forgiven? God offers forgiveness to us in a limitless, measureless abundance. All you need to do is to ask.
• Feelings of worthlessness – The God of the Universe loves YOU. If you had been the only person who would have been saved by his sacrifice on the cross, he would have done it JUST FOR YOU.

What should we take with us?

• Confidence – Don’t forget, if God is asking you to take action, then He will equip you for that task. You are gifted by God. Use your gifts with the confidence of a child of God.
• Purpose – We have a calling from God, you and I. We have a mission in this place, at this time, to be a church. It’s time for every one of us to take up a cross, and follow him.
• Grace – God offers grace as a gift. He’s holding it out, ready to shower it upon us like rain. Throw away your umbrellas, and stand in the downpour. Get wet. Get soaked. Laugh and giggle in the rain of grace.
• Thanksgiving – Be always and ever grateful for all of the blessings we have from God. We have his presence, his love, and we have each other. Carry gratitude with you into the new year, and share it with the body of Christ.
• Each other – None of us needs to walk into the new year alone. We are part of the body of Christ, and because of that, our burdens are smaller and our joy can be made brighter. We travel light because we share the load.

Horatio Spafford wrote the hymn It is Well With My Soul. He was a businessman in Chicago, who had invested heavily in real estate. In 1871, the Great Fire of Chicago meant the loss of much of his property. The fire occurred just as the Spafford family was grieving over the loss of their only son. Later, Spafford’s wife, Anna and four of their daughters were traveling on a ship that was struck by an iron sailing vessel. Their ship sank, and all four daughters were lost. Mrs. Spafford survived and sent her husband the telegram, “Saved alone.”

He sailed immediately to join in her Wales. The captain pointed out to him where his daughters had died, and, some believe that the hymn was written out of the grief that overcame him at this moment. The hymn is a beautiful expression of worship, which speaks to those in grief, but also has a message for us as we take our first steps into the new year.

When peace, like a river,
Attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to know,
“It is well, it is well with my soul”

Happy New Year! May you walk into the future with burdens lifted, traveling light, and with the knowledge that “it is well with your soul.” May your journey be along God’s path, and may He give you the joy that is peace.

Kim Matthews