Flee the Wrath

Some 150 years ago, a man by the name of Horatio Spafford penned the words to a now famous hymn, “it is well with my soul”. This hymn, though written so long ago, has since gone on to be recorded by a few of today’s popular Christian bands.

Like so many who have heard the words Horatio faithfully wrote, I was struck by something upon it’s hearing. It is deeply soul stirring, troubling, and though at first I could not quite fathom why it challenged me, in this post I’m attempting to do so.

Here in this Hymn are the words of one like Job, who’s life was beset by sorrow, yet finds the strength in Christ to testify “Whatever my lot, though hast taught me to say, even so, it is well with my soul”

For those who have not heard his testimony, perhaps you could take the time to read it below, then re-read the words he penned in the hymn.

In this hymn Horatio confesses truth as he has come to understand it.  Not a God who meets the need of a man in every material sense as we know it, but rather that the knowledge of God and the hope in His justice and redemption grants him sufficient strength to overcome his sorrows.

Here in this hymn are the words of one who trusts his Saviour, in spite of lifes trials.

In our modern world we often tend to glorify God in our prosperity. We pray and give thanks to Him for His abundance. We testify of our material blessing and glorify His name and so often we expect Him to maintain our perfect Christian facade lifestyles, and should He do any less than this we would find ourselves ashamed, wondering what gross sin we’ve committed that we should be beset by such trials.  Should He do any less than this, we would challenge Him as to whether He is being just on our part.

Today I believe the Christian faith often tends to portray God quite distinctly different from that of Horatio’s understanding. Our modern God often says that you don’t have to accept your lot, for God has a better material/carnal plan. You can change your life by the power of prayer, the power of a positive attitude in Christ. He will give you a new improved version of life. Perhaps like the so popular lifestyle home improvement programs which are broadcast today. Get God, and get a new improved life, get wealth, get success, get prosperity.

I can’t help wondering as a result of our modern understanding of Christ that we might place demands on God which He is altogether unwilling to meet. You know like James said “you ask amiss” Therefore sadly and mistakenly perhaps we also place expectations in the hearts of believers and portray God as a sugar daddy from heaven, then when sugar daddy does not grant your wish, what then? A falling away from the faith perhaps? Because as it turns out God was more interested in you doing His will, rather than Him responding to yours.  Selah!

Is the faith of Christ really all about meeting your every need as we understand it, from our natural and carnal perspective, or is it about giving you the ability to endure, to overcome, to live life to the glory of God, that comes by the certain hope placed within you, the Blessed assurance.

I’m sure God is well pleased to bless men with material wealth and prosperity, but I believe God is glorified most of all when the one who has no reason to hope, expresses and overwhelming hope in that which is unseen. God is most glorified when men might have no earthly reason to trust, yet have an abiding trust in their creator. Men like Horatio Spafford, who having lost that which he loved expresses the words “whatever my lot, Though hast taught me to say, even so it is well with my soul”.

Horatio Spafford commentary thanks to Wikipedia.

This hymn “it is well ” was written after several traumatic events in Spafford’s life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the S.S. Ville du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems follow the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sailing ship, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford’s daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone.” Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had perished.

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, even so it is well with my soul.

The Spaffords later had three more children, one of whom (a son) died in infancy. In 1881 the Spaffords, including baby Bertha and newborn Grace, set sail for Palestine. The Spaffords moved to Jerusalem and helped found a group called the American Colony; its mission was to serve the poor. The colony later became the subject of the Nobel prize winning Jerusalem, by Swedish novelist Selma Lagerlöf.

Hymn Lyrics :

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.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blessed assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

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!

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my 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.

With all of the financial doom, gloom and economic bad news going around at the moment you may think it odd that I don’t consider the worlds financial system to be the cause of our economic woes.

No doubt, as the leaders of the worlds economies meet in the days ahead they will be looking to fix the system, for clearly the system is at fault.  They will suggest that we need to do something new, something different, a new Bretton Woods agreement, a new monetary system, a new regulatory system.  I am sure that there are hundreds of suggested fixes out there at the moment just waiting to be laid on the table.

Problem is that it’s not the system that’s broken. Throwing billions of dollars at the economy right now may seem like a good idea but it cannot fix the issue in the longer term.

The problem is far greater,  it goes beyond the law, beyond legislative and regulatory changes in order to restore some semblance of order to it. The problem is simply this, it’s us, it’s people, it’s humanity. It’s the greed, selfishness and unjust gain of a covetous generation that has got us to this point. Can you not see that!

Can you not see in this event that humanity is fallen, is broken. Until we address the broken nature of man you can never have the heaven on earth which your heart desires.  It is not possible, sin will prevail, for it is the nature of a man.

Christ alone came to redeem men from the curse of their fallen, sinful nature. You think sin is some kind of joke. You think the bible is some kind of fairy story that religious people made up in order to enslave a generation.

Sin will end this world of it’s own doing. The financial woes which presently surround us are simply a testimony to this fact.

But God, according to His loving kindness has made a way for you, for me. That we will not have to partake of the fierceness of His wrath at the end of days. His wrath which will be poured out on unrepentant humanity who refuse to turn and be healed.

Turn away from your wicked deeds sinner, believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you will live.

Christ is the only solution to fallen, sinful humanity.

In this life there are two loves wrestling with each other in every trial and temptation: Love of the world and the love of God. And whichever of these two wins, that’s where it pulls the lover by force of gravity. It isn’t, you see, on wings or on foot that we come to God, but on the power of our desires. And again, it isn’t with knots and chains that we find ourselves stuck to earth, but with contrary desires. Christ came to change our love, and to make lovers of heavenly life out of earthly lovers. – Augustine of Canterbury

It was in 1998, at 35 years of age that I had a life changing encounter with Christ.

Life had been very good to me, though I’d occasionally endured trials, I was pretty much blessed with every good thing. A lovely wife, 3 beautiful children, good job, good health, lived in peace and security. Far more than many in this world could hope for.

After my salvation experience I began to look back at my former life, often bewildered at how I’d gotten so far without God, without genuinely seeking to know the purpose of life.

In those former years I had very occasionally thought about purpose, but it seemed quite clear that my purpose was to imitate that which most others did. To keep up with the Joneses, as the saying goes.  Settle down, have a family, surround myself with a nice home, garden and car. Work towards an economically secure future. Simple ambitions but based completely on a concern for self alone.

I would set my heart upon a goal, a new house perhaps, and diligently work toward that goal until it was achieved. Once that material goal had been met I would then set myself a new goal and work towards achieving it.  Life often seemed to work like this, moving from one goal to the next. Of course it wasn’t always a material goal, perhaps a desire to move up the executive ladder, invariably however it was all part of the desire to increase my income, or the standing I held in the workplace.

Looking back I realise now that I was tarred with a brush not of my own making. I was partaking of a spirit at work in the world which seeks to delude humanity, using the selfish pride that we humans are marked with. That spirit is so subtle, yet will condemn a proud man to destruction. It is so deceiving that within it’s grasp men have no desire to look beyond it’s walls for truth.

This same spirit marks multitudes in our culture today, multitudes of men and women who believe that life is about buying and selling, of consuming, of advancing their career, of a material life whose sole focus is self and self promotion.

There can be no doubt about it. Most in my culture are already spiritually marked by the beast, the spirit which satisfies the selfish ambition and pride of men, to the degree that they have no concern nor desire to know God and His Christ.

The same spirit which says “buy and sell” and find your purpose in this.

Rev 13:16      He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
Rev 13:17     and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or [fn] the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18     Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number [is] 666.

Sadly we so often think we are blessed in our materialistic, wealthy, prosperous Babylonian culture, I beg to differ.