Songs of Encouragement: It Is Well
By Cara Croft
Hughes Auditorium. Asbury College (now University). Spring 1995. I was sitting in my balcony seat along the side of the auditorium. It was a perfect seat because I could hear all 1500 voices raising this prayer in song. I was nearing the end of my sophomore year of college knowing that I would not be able to return for my junior year. Hughes Auditorium had become a holy and safe space. A place where I had shed many tears, prayed many prayers, knelt at the altar and waited for answers from God. During the week, it was a place of silence, even when other students gathered there. In the silence you could feel the presence of God. You may think I am exaggerating but ask anyone who has been there.
At this particular chapel service, I was at a place of questioning what God’s plans were for me. I did not understand the financial hardships He was allowing me to go through and I was extremely sad about having to leave a place where I felt so near to God. I felt save about having to leave friends I had connected with over the 2 years I was there. I felt scared not knowing what the future held and instead I was feeling the impending good-byes and the loss that brings. Then the words began. “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”. Even as I type these words, I shed tears. The depth to which this hymn expresses my desire stirs my soul. In suffering, in times of peace, no matter what I am facing I want to sing, “it is well with my soul”.
Over the years, almost every time I begin to sing this song I am moved to tears. It brings back those memories of sitting in that chapel wondering what God was doing. I can look back and see more of His plan as it has unfolded these 25+ years later. Yet, I wonder what is to come, both in suffering and in joy. His faithfulness has been seen through meeting my now husband, the joy of children born, and the grief of a child lost. The trials of dealing with sicknesses and depression yet the joy of health and life. The ups and downs of ministry that has brought both joy and pain. Watching parents get older and children growing into adults. The darkness that sometimes envelopes my world. The loss of friendships, the joy of blossoming friendships. Mentors who have encouraged my soul and challenged my complacency. Through it all, “it is well with my soul”. The doubts of God’s goodness and love of me. The joy of feeling His nearness and experiencing His tenderness towards my heart. The sadness and frustration of seeing my sin, and the comfort of the cross. “It is well with my soul”.
Sometimes this song brings a comfort and expresses my prayer. Sometimes this song is a challenge to my fragile faith. Sometimes I struggle to sing it and sometimes I can sing it loudly and confidently. “It is well, it is well with my soul”. I have included the hymn and all of it’s verse (according to Wilkapedia) below and my prayer for you, dear reader, is that this hymn can be a source of comfort, encouragement and a prayer for us all.
1. 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.
Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
3. 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!
4. For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
5. But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
6. And Lord, haste the day when the 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.