While I haven’t personally taken any punches to the gut this week, nearly everyday I’ve heard from certain friends who are just going through it, you know what I mean? We all have those days and weeks, and quite frankly, we do everything in our might to avoid pain, conflict and hurt, but at the end of the day, we’re still humans living in a fallen world and though we strive for perfection, we’ll never attain it here on earth.
It’s hard to form the right words when you really don’t know what to say, which is why I appreciate music so much. So often I’m at a loss for how to articulate what I’m feeling when boom, I hear a song that could make me weep because it so resonates. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the kind of person that throws a song at somebody the minute something goes awry. Not in the least. But you better believe sometimes I get back in my car and turn on said song and pray it over my friends, and myself, too.
That happened as recently as yesterday.
I got in my car and turned on Bethel’s newest version of It Is Well. In case you were curious, yes, it is a version of the hymn It Is Well, which I am sure many of you know so well.
But if you’ve not heard it, please allow me to share the lyrics with you.
Grander earth has quaked before
Moved by the sound of His voice
Seas that are shaken and stirred
Can be calmed and broken for my regard
Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
Through it all, through it all
It is well
Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
It is well with me
Far be it from me to not believe
Even when my eyes can’t see
And this mountain that’s in front of me
Will be thrown into the midst of the sea
So let go my soul and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His name
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It would be worth $1.29 on iTunes to purchase.
At times, life is not without pain. But the beauty is that the pain is not without purpose, even if we keep trying to make sense of it and we can’t. Even if we can’t see what in the world He is doing. That’s when we remember that even the winds and waves know His name. He sees our brokenness. He knows our hearts.
I have no idea what kind of season you are walking through right now. It could be full of joy. It could be full of unknowns. It could be full of pain. It could be full or laughter. It could be full of tears. I don’t know, but the God of the universe does know. And one thing is for sure: it is full of purpose.
Know this weekend that you are dearly loved by God, my Sister.
“Heart-shattered lives ready for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.” Psalm 51:17
“If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.” Psalm 34:18
Beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
cute lindsee- i just wanted to thank you for every single music recommendation you’ve made. i pretty much download every song you reference and i haven’t been disappointed yet – from the All Sons & Daughters album to Sara Groves’ “He’s Always Been Faithful” – I’ve always been blessed (and I think of you when I listen). Just downloaded this album too! Excited because I didn’t even know Bethel Music released a new album! So much love to you! 🙂 xo
Awesome song…Wow..just what I needed to hear.
It is well with my soul!
This morning I have been blasting Travis Cottrell’s song “Thanks be to our God”! I have had a morning of thanksgiving! Not that everything is going my way … just called to be Grateful no matter what!
I am so amazed at how God brings songs that hit me bull’s eye to my heart and need; then how delighted I am to sing, praise, pray and worship my God with His chosen song!
So after quiet time with God (some not so quiet);) I too can claim “It is Well with my Soul!” 🙂
PRAISE GOD!
I too blast Travis’s song “Thanks be to our God” in my car where the cd is. It is in my funeral file already as the last song to be sung, the words are so perfect going from birth to death to such victory and the testimony of my soul. Thanks for sharing.
I too was so blessed with this “It is well with my soul” as the original hymn is my husbands favourite coming out of a non-christian home and miraculously getting saved 45 years ago. !
Lindsee,
I was amazed as I read this post. It was as if God told you exactly what to say to me in this season. Thanks for listening and obeying His voice.
I feel exactly the same. It was amazing for me to read this on a day like today. These past several months have been so hard and I cannot understand it. But yes I need to trust. Please pray for me.
Thank you for that Lindsee. I have for so many years dealt with my emotions with emotional eating rather than feeling them. Now that I have had gastric bypass I can’t do that anymore and I am forced to deal with the emotions and actually feel them. Music has been such a comfort to me at those times. Maybe this is more than you want to know so if it is I’ll ask for forgiveness in advance. But this week when I look in the mirror I wonder aloud to God did you make a mistake when you made me? It’s just hard..Thanks for the encouraging words. Blessings to you..
Mary, you are a dear and so very loved. Never a mistake. Know that today. Hugs!
Lindsee, your response brought tears to my eyes. Thank you.
Thanks, I didn’t even realize how tense I was til I listened and I felt it leave. Thanks again
That was beautiful, I needed that today.. 🙂
Yeah. I’m one of those who was sucker punched this week. This song made me weep but with joy. Thank you.
Thank you for this post. Truly God has led you to write it today. You have brought to me a sense of His Presence and Peace <3
Thank you for your obedience.
Lindsee,
How fast mountain top vistas give way to valley floors. Our family just witnessed a christian wedding of our son and a sweet girl named you guessed it…Beth!! It turned out so well considering Scott’s carriage took more work to put together than he thought it would. Our main driving horse turned up lame. It rained the day of thier wedding. The main organist got sick and could not play the pipe organ.
In the end, the carriage was breathtaking, our second in line drivng horse stepped up to the plate and did a beautiful job. The rain stopped for the needed time for them to get the ride in. My dear friend who has a music degree stepped up to play Jesu on the pipes and Trumpet Voluntary and had us all chocked up it was so moving. It was so nice seeing a young couple who put Jesus first in thier lives have a christian wedding.
I got home and went to a convention the next weekend with the women’s group of our denomination. The Bible studies were super the speaker was just so great and I came home so refreshed and running over with His joy.
The next weekend I went to a neices wedding. It was my only sister’s daughter. She has been prety much estranged from me and I won’t go into detail here but my sister has relapsed and is in the fight of her life with her cancer. I was shocked at how weak she looked. I hugged her and told her we need to get together.
This week our son went in for a routine mole removal and though I was concerned about the mole his GP said it did not look suspicious. Well turns out he has an advanced melenoma. Brian had childhood leukemia, has suffered with Grand Mal siezures and now he has a fight like this. We take him in this coming week to see the extent of this and if he has any other moles affected.
Still it is well with my soul as all things do turn out good whether it seems like it right now or not.
I love this version of an old favorite!!
Bless you Lindsee,
Betty M
How much I needed this tonight. I randomly came to catch up on your blog….God knew I needed this reminder of His purpose, His plan, His care. Thank you for reminding me He cares….regardless of all.
God Bless You.
“When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows, like sea billows roll:
Whatever my lot, Thou hast thought me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Oops, this is supposed to have another ” on the end. From a powerful old hymn. 🙂
This post was for me too. Thanks Lindsee.
Good word, playing the song right now. I agree many are in times that are really hard.
Lindsee, this so blessed me this morning. Thank you for sharing the love. xoxo
I agree with Lindsee…if only you could know how timely these words are…like God is speaking directly to me (as with this post). Hey…HE IS! Thank you for sharing…I wanted to encourage you that He is using you in so many ways that you will probably never know (at least this side of heaven)…what is it that John Piper says…’God is working in a every situation in a thousand different ways we cannot see’ 🙂 Bless you all! (now you know I am a northerner) 😉
Just hit the right note for me today. As another appliance decided to give me the fits. I am hand washing dishes for now. The dish washer broke down a few days ago . We are not going into debt to fix it. We decided pay off our bills like mortgage, care loan and that same hour it died. A test I know. Now the garbage disposal is jammed. We can fix it after borrowing a tool. Satan is trying to get the best of me but he won’t. God will reign in my mind and heart! That song was worship for me and lifted me up!
It sure doesn’t seem like “All is Well” at the moment. I read the news locally and nationally and feel worried, I read the news from around the world and feel concerned. Then in my own home, I’m concerned about my ill parents and how they’re getting along day to day. In the back of my mind I keep telling myself, “God is in control, He knows what He is doing.” All I need do is trust, believe, and obey. But my humanness keeps me awake at night sometimes, and it gives me vision of a bleak future. And in the middle of it all, there is a peace that passes all understand… it’s GOD!
Thank you for sharing Lindsee
I so know what you mean…this week we’ve watched two precious members of our church family struggle with cancer…a month ago my sister-in-law was found dead…she was only 35…it seems that every week there is pain…but every minute of every day God’s grace is more than enough…He is so much more than enough!
What a beautiful post! This has always been one of my favorite hymns.
Thank you! Much needed. Don’t know what he is up to.
Just received your blog n my mail – of all days – “today.” I can say, God never ceases to amaze me; the truth is HE literally blows me into His ever-desperately needed unfathomable love, every time HE does something so outrageously wild as, “this Truth through a post.” Have never been lured into such a situation, nor have I “ever” found myself to be so totally ignorantly innocent–I mean, the biggest loser type ditz. What can I say? I trustingly took for granted, when @ any other time, The Spirit would probe me of warnings. “This” was just “another time” I let my guard down. I failed to pray before leaving for myself (had prayed 4 everyone else, Mrs Beth, Lubbock, the LPL fam, Travis, ground attendants and in-house servants, but 4got myself); failed to ask The Lord to discern in me, as HE guarded my heart. So, went off, totally ill-equipped. Learned the biggest lesson of my – starting over – life, and learned it the hardest, most devastating way. Something have never been caught in; something that I wouldn’t allow myself to be caught in. Heart shattered by one that was supposed to meet, only to find out, he set me between him and another, and then got up and left us sitting there, alone. Me, first time have come close in 3-4 yrs to take a step out into the world we live of the eve.alone, to hear live music (oldies love songs).
Had been invited by this single man. It takes me forever to just get cleaned up, makeup, hair, lotion, clothes–then, an hour to lay flat of my back, due to not taking any pain meds. Wanted to be alert; afterall, it was my first time out alone @ a personal invite. When my invite set me w/another he was very aware that I be a single woman (had called me a beautiful lady, in Greek; and of course this ditz fell for it–afterall he spoke “GREEK!” He was aware have been very sick; jus trying to start all over; jus attempting to make an effort towards somewhat norm of a social life. Little did I realize a lot of things and was so vulnerably innocent to it all. Yes, feel like the biggest loser, & a quack of a ditz. Heart-broken and devastated beyond devastation, GOD sees us sitting in all our hurts: You are so right, young, Spirit-led, mighty warrior, precious Lindsee. AND HOW THE SPIRIT OF OUR LORD HAS USED YOU IN A GREAT WAY ON THIS PARTICULAR DAY. “Thank you,” for sharing. Please forgive me if I choose to post “this” one “Anonymous.” It’s about as far as I can muster up to go right now. O’ for grace. How wonderfully gracious our Abba Father is. “Thank you for the honesty and forth rightness; thank you for being sensitive to The Spirit, and following it in obedience unto The LORD.
Respectfully in HIM; grace and peace to you and yours from God, The Eternal Abba Father. May the favor of His supernatural Anointing be freshly full upon you each new day. Again, “Bless you, dear one, and thank you.”
Alisha, just read your post. I am sorry for your loss and for the suffering your church is enduring through one of your own beloved. Just want y to know, will be praying for your family, loved ones, and church family. May The Lord our God grace you and comfort you through His surpassing peace. God bless you, precious soul.
Thank you for this today. I need to focus more on Jesus, not my circumstances or situations in front of me.
God bless you all!
Beautiful.
Lindsee,
I read your post and watched the video, and of course I was an utter mess of tears 3 words in. I will echo what other ladies of said God is right on time providing words, melodies, songs and hope right when we need them. I needed them tonight as I just found out that my sister is in the hospital for psychiatric reasons. I am a whole country away from my family and there is nothing I can do other than pray and remind myself that all of this is well with my soul and with her’s as well. I and my family would appreciate some words of prayer being lifted up for her as this has been a painful life long battle for her. Thanks again for letting God speak and move through you here. Love and light.
Thank you.
I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut the last several days. Thanks for sharing this!
I saw this on here and went right to youtube to listen and wept my heart out. I am heartbroken over ANOTHER church split to endure and desperately needed that sweet, powerful, soothing song to let my tears flow and worship God in the midst of the pain. Thank you SO very much for posting this, if for no one else but for me.
Margie
Margie, that is so hard and heartbreaking. I hate the enemy for creeping in on churches and causing discord and splits. Ugh! Blessings to you.
Wow, Lindsee, wow. We found out three days ago that my beloved 14 yr old daughter’s literal heart may have some complications — and we’ll have to wait for three weeks to find out more specifics (the not-so-fun part of living in the most remote state in the Union). So not only was your post apropos, so were the two verses you concluded with. Thanking God for speaking to us through you ~
I’m praying right now that all tests would come back negative. I am so sorry!
Hi,
What you said about life being a battle, and it being painful, and your heart can be broken?? Very much the life I’m living right now. My husband of 33 years has Huntington’s Disease, a terminal illness. He is in San Diego, while I live 300 miles to the north. We have been apart for 15 months now. It is gutwrenching, painful, heartbreaking, and so difficult to know how to live now. I am trying to press in to God, and find my way out of the darkness. Your words above help and I thank you for sharing. Life is very much moment to moment now, and I don’t really have much hope right now. I don’t know if God can heal my broken heart. But I keep trying each day.
Thank you for sharing your blog, and helping all of us.
God Bless you.
Ingrid Minks
I’m so sorry, Ingrid. Praying you feel God’s nearness despite your husband being so far away.
Breath taking. Thank you for sharing.
oh wow ! thanks so much for sharing this!!!!
Well, then I hope you like my re-vised version of the this song…I wanted it to be a Christian song, so I changed up some of the words:
For all those times You stood by me
For all the Truth you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life
For every dream you made come true
For all the Love I found in You
I’ll be forever thankful, Jesus
You’re the one who holds me up
Never let me slip and fall
You’re the one who sees me through, through it all!
You are my strength when I am weak
You are my voice when I can’t speak
You are my eyes when I can’t see
You see the best there is for me
Lift me up when I am down
You are my faith, when I believe
I’m everything I am
Because you have loved me.
You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my heart I could touch the sky
I lost my way, you help me turn back to You
You stood by me and I humbly fall
I feel your Love inside me I praise You for it all!
You are my strength when I am weak
You are my voice when I can’t speak
You are my eyes when I can’t see
You see the best there is for me
Lift me up when I am down
You are my faith, when I believe
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me.
You are always there for me
The tender wind that carries me
A light in the dark shining your love into my life
You’ve been my sanctification
Through my brokenness, I found you are the truth
My life is in a better place because of You.~joyce
That’s a powerful song, thank you for sharing, Lindsee.
I often don’t have words to speak in times of trouble either but music speaks to my soul. I recently came upon this song/video on you tube and it instantly calms my inner being.
Be Still is another good one. Of course prayer is still my#1 when I have problems but music is a close 2nd.
It’s nice our Heavenly Father is like a rock. He’s solid and we can climb up on His lap anytime we need him.
That song has been totally rearranged. Very beautiful. It’s amazing how different it sounds when it’s rearranged.
It’s like putting new clothes on it.
Thanks! I needed that!
Wow! God knew I needed to hear these words today.
What an awesome song! Just downloaded it on iTunes!
WOW, I have not been on this web site but a hand full of times and this was truly Divine intervention. Been going through something for 5 long, hard, faith killing years and just scratching and scraping trying to find my way back to Him and I read this. Yes, life is full of pain and suffering, but thank goodness He has not let go of me and somehow He will show me the good in this.
Thank you for sharing and I wish I had been in Lubbock!!
Thank you so much for sharing this. Couldn’t have come at a better time 🙂
Wept when I heard this song for all the many things that have gone wrong in others lives. The lyrics touched my soul, bore a hole through my weary heart but paved a way of hope. What my blinded eyes can’t see and what in this moment I can’t believe … through it all He won’t leave me. In my weakest, darkest night feeling the power of fright He holds me in His arms of might. No matter what winds and waves blow my way may I have faith in what remains, He knows my name. And by the time this trainwrecks through, all the while the Father knew..that through it all…. I’d find faith and strength in YOU!