So many things have been happening lately that wipe the smile from my face and cause tears to well up in my eyes and stream down my cheeks. Events that lay heavy burdens of pain and sorrow on my heart.

If I didn't fully believe that the God I serve is truly who He says He is, I would probably say that the joy had also been wiped from my heart.  

But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Creator of the universe, the God of gods and Lord of lords, IS. And I believe that Jesus is truly our Messiah and that He is the fulfillment of prophecy and promises and the bridge between mankind and God. That the key to salvation lies in faith in Jesus as God's son. I believe that once I believe on Him and in Him - that He is the Son of God and that my life is His - the game is changed.

Perspectives change. The present doesn't hold me in its power like it used to. I live for the glory of God and not for the glory and fulfillment of Ashley. I have to adjust to a completely different set of life instructions and viewpoint....

Isaiah 55:8-9 say "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

 So when things happen that make just no sense whatsoever to me, that doesn't mean that joy should be stricken from my heart. I'm not supposed to understand everything that happens on this earth - the good or the bad. 

Nor am I supposed to throw my hands up in despair, no matter how desperate things seem. And lately, things do seem desperate and grave.

There are so many serious issues happening around me and in my life. People are hurting so deeply for so many different, equally painful reasons. And it seems unparalleled.

Yet I am reminded of a few things as I ponder these issues and lift up my cares, hurts, thoughts and pleas to God - 

1) I'm not supposed to feel comfortable and completely perfect in this life because this is not my real home. As a child of God, I will never feel the sense of belonging and home and rightness until I'm with the Lord.

2) Trials and tribulations will happen and are to produce patience in us, perfecting us, completing us. And not only US, but completing the plan God has in place. And they don't feel good and won't feel good, but they are accomplishing GREAT things.

3) God can be trusted. He is my hope. My hope is in Him. He is my bedrock, my cornerstone. He is WORTH trusting in, even when things fall apart. Especially when things fall apart. Because things fall apart. If there is no constant in this world but change, what should we look to for stability? We're all searching for something to hold tightly to that won't shift on us. Aren't we? And there is one thing. One Rock. The one thing that won't change, that can't change. The immutable God. That is the conclusion I reach upon my contemplation.

There will be tears and those are ok. There can still be joy because God has promised to accomplish His great purpose. He has promised to comfort us, to wipe our tears, to restore the lost years to us, to shelter us in the shadow of His wings. He has a whole book full of promises which absolutely will be kept by Him because not only is He unchangeable, He cannot lie. 

So, I stand on the prow of this ship called life, heading into the great unknown, and  I say to the fears, the doubts, the looming waves that threaten to topple economies, climates, lives, hopes and dreams....

It is well with my soul.

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.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for 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!

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.

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.

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.

It is well...

With my soul...

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

Horatio Spafford