Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!”
Psalm 46: 1-3 (NLT)“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters,
He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalm 23 (NIV)
I remember September 11, 2001, and its aftermath around the nation, world, and our individual lives.
I remember Covid, with all its uncertainty and impact for years to follow.
And so many other times in our nation and world come to mind.
And I remember turning to help each other.
Law enforcement, fire department personnel, and medical personnel sacrificing their own safety, and often their lives to help, lift, and rescue others. Neighbors standing in long lines to donate needed blood and help others in so many other ways just to get through the day.
But I also remember so many of us turning to God.
Finding the peace He always provides, reminding us in our uncertainty, anxiety, and difficulties that He was still there, and always would be.
Reminding us, as we lifted each other, and were lifted ourselves, that with our trust in God as our foundation—all would be well.
I wonder how your day is going now. And the journey in this latest season of your life. Family okay. Relationships on track.
I wonder what valleys, obstacles, heartaches, challenges, losses you are facing, or may face in the days to come.
Maybe some unforeseen crises have begun to overwhelm you, and you’re not sure how to navigate through them by yourself. Hard to see any way out from where you find yourself.
While storms are coming one right after another, with no break for recovery.
In 1873, when he had just learned that his four daughters had drowned as the result of the collision of two vessels in the Atlantic Ocean on their way to Europe, Horatio G. Spafford was no doubt about to experience the worst storm he would ever have to face.
And even though he knew that his four daughters were now with their Heavenly Father, he probably had more reasons at that moment than most of us will ever have in a lifetime to turn from God, and to reject the peace, power, presence, and love of God in his life.
Instead, he wrote the song “It Is Well With My Soul,” a song for the ages and for your life and mine—
“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…
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.”
No matter where we are in life, no matter what storms we face or find ourselves in the middle of—no matter the losses, the challenges, valleys, obstacles and the heartaches we are in the midst of, or we see looming ominously out in front of us—God is still there.
In all the days of your life, whatever the journey you are on, the Lord is still your Shepherd.
Seek Him. Follow Him. Stay close to Him. Reach out to others to help and for help, with Him.
When you do, you will find that the Lord remains your Refuge, Strength, and Shepherd, and with Him, always—All is Well.
In His Name–Scott
Be blessed as you listen to the Brigham Young University Choir— “Vocal Point” (A Cappella) sing “It Is Well With My Soul.”
