It would be of no surprise to those of you who know me that I love music – music of many different styles and genres.  And I find it helpful to recall lyrics of Christian Hymns and Songs, particularly in reacting to what is happening in my own life or in the life of a friend or acquaintance.

Since the current sermon series is on the Book of Job with its theme of faith in God during a time of loss or suffering, I’m particularly reminded of the words in a couple of treasured Hymns. 

The first is by Fanny Crosby.  Fanny was blind from birth but did not consider that to be a disability.  She wrote hundreds of Hymns, including “All the Way My Saviour Leads Me”, which concludes the first verse with these words:

For I know, whate’er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well;

For I know, whate’er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well.

I was particularly touched when Gladys Staines chose this as one of the songs to sing when she gave a talk at Windsor Road following her return to Australia.  Gladys and her husband Graham ran a Christian Mission amongst lepers and the poor in Orissa province in India.  Graham and their two young sons were burned to death by Hindu extremists.  Gladys is famous for her forgiveness of the perpetrators, inspired by God’s forgiveness offered through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The second Hymn is “It is Well With My Soul”, the lyrics written by Horatio G. Spafford, following a family tragedy in which his four daughters died during a transatlantic voyage.  Earlier he had suffered devastating financial losses due to the Great Fire of Chicago.  The whole Hymn inspires us to have an eternal perspective, and I am particularly moved by the second verse:

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.”

As we study the Book of Job and reflect on our own journey through life, let us ask ourselves the question:

Is it well with my soul?

In Christ,

Darryl