It Is Well with My Soul

I've been listening to old hymns sung by modern artists recently in my car on the way to and from work. As I took a break after work  today to walk by the river, this song played in my heart and mind.

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.

Can you believe that these wonderful words were written in 1873 by Horatio G. Spafford?? Over one hundred years ago! When you look at the numbers 100 years doesn't seem so long ago but when you look at the details its a little overwhelming to think of all the changes and life events that have occurred in that small time frame: mobility: horses to cars to planes to space  economy: recessions, depressions, and times of growth, Added states: Washington, Hawaii, and Alaska. Wars: Spanish-American, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Cold War, Gulf War, Iraq War, Afghanistan War. Events: Civil Rights Act 1875 but rights still being fought for almost 100 years later!! Prohibition, abortion legalized, walk on the moon, the internet, assignation of Kennedy / MLKjr, Y2K, 9/11,  Matthew Shepard Act, Columbine, same sex marriage legalized, Miranda rights, and the list goes on and on and on.....

No matter what happens in America or the world, this remains true:

Heb 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever"

John 6:35,40, 47  "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty....For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.....Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life."

John 3:16-18     "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."