How’s your soul?

Originally written February 4, 2019

How’s your soul today?

One of my absolute favorite hymns is “It is Well with My Soul.”

This morning I read those words again and hit on this phrase: “Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul.’”

WHATEVER my lot.

It may not be well with my mind. There may be so many confusing, frustrating, complex problems that my mind is a whirling dervish of scattered ponderings that keep me tossing sleeplessly all night and unable to focus all day.

It may not be well with my emotions. I may be weighed down by depression or inflamed with anger or paralyzed by grief—any or all of which may skew my perspective on the quality of life at the moment.

It may not be well with my body. I may be sidelined by injury, ravaged by illness, or crippled by chronic pain. I may simply be bearing the consequences of life choices or the natural progression of aging. All of those can produce frustration and even guilt about my lack of productivity.

It may not be well with my circumstances. I may be over my head in debt. I may be unable to find work. I may not have enough money to pay my bills. I may have neighbors from the pit of … you know. Or I may have a job that pays well, but my boss or my employees are joy suckers. When I look at my circumstances, I think something’s got to give soon.

It may not be well with my relationships. I may be going through a nasty divorce. I may be estranged from parents, siblings, or children. I may have lost my best friend. Broken relationships can become all-consuming.

But at my deepest core—my life, my true identity, my soul—it is well.

Why?

Because I am held by a love that will not let me go. I am in the grip of God’s grace and love.

Oswald Chambers said, “Very few of us really know what it means to be held in the grip of the love of God.”

That’s why the song says, “Whatever my lot, Thou hast TAUGHT me to say, ‘It is well…’”

I have to learn—and be reminded—over and over again about the nature of His love.

This love of God that grips his children is a love that knows no limits. It cannot be shaken loose. It drives us forward when we think the tank is empty. It pursues is when we try to hide. It puts us back on the horse when life has bucked us off.

It is what one of the deepest Christian songwriters of the late 20th century referred to as “the reckless, raging fury that they call the love of God.” (Rich Mullins)

And when we become aware of that grip on our souls, it changes the way we look at the rest.

So, I’ll ask again: How’s your soul today?

Be amazing today, my friend.