Ruined by God's Love

Have you ever been ruined by God? It is an interesting question I know. And I'm sure many of you right now are scratching your heads and saying did she really just ask me if I've been ruined by God. Or you are thinking I have been healed by Him, redeemed by Him, restored by Him, filled by Him and sometimes I have been broken or humbled by Him, but never has God ruined me. I promise if you stick with by the time I am done writing today I will answer that question for you.

I had the pleasure of accompanying my friends Lauren and Keith to church yesterday. It was a very non-traditional service in the sense that the entire time was just spent praising and worshiping and fellowshiping and communing with God through music (something I could have done all day). The worship leader was explaining to us that this service had been in the works for many months and that as he was preparing for the day he spent a lot of time reading Romans, especially Romans 6. As he was preparing God inspired him with this song he was about to introduce to use and he presented us with the very same question I just presented you with.

Honestly to say I was shocked is an understatement. In my little religion major mind all sorts of bells and whistles and flags were going off. I just could not believe what this guy had just asked. My interest was also peaked though (probably because I was curious to see how this guy was going to talk his way out of this). But he began to read to us the scripture that God had inspired him with and I began to see where he was going. If you are not familiar with Romans 6 Paul is explaining that we have died with Christ and are given new life in Him. That we are dead to sin. That we are free from the bondage of sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I know that being a slave does not sound very appealing to anyone, but because we are slaves in one form or another to something why not be a slave to righteousness living for Christ.

So with that set up here is how we are ruined by God. As we die to sin and to our former selves we are bound as slaves of righteousness. We abdicate our place and control of our own lives and allow God to take the reins. His internal working of our heart, mind and soul begins to reflect in our outward and daily lives so much so that it begins to be less of ourselves who is seen and more of God. Thus by the standards and practices of the world living without God we have been ruined by His love and presence in our lives. So you see by allowing God's inner working and by becoming slaves to righteousness rather than slaves to this world we have become ruined by God's love (at least in the eyes of the world which is fine by me).

It Is Well With My Soul

First I apologize for the long absence from my writing. The last month and a half has really been crazy for myself and my family (all of which has worked itself out now). There were many times that I felt inspired to write and believe me I had much to write about, but at the end of the day I just didn't feel like writing. I was so physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted at days end that all I really wanted was a shower and a pillow. I know that sounds bad.

I am back now and finally feel ready to write. One of the ways God has been speaking to me is through music as He often does. However, this time I wasn't listening to contemporary music, I went back to the hymns of the church. There is such beauty and wisdom within the verses of the old hymns that in times of distress I find much comfort in them. One day while I was listen to some I began to wonder what had inspired the men and women of the past to write such powerful songs so I hopped on the Internet and began to research the history behind the hymns. Let me just say there are some amazing stories behind these hymns, but the one that struck me the most during this particular rough patch was It Is Well With My Soul and I just have to share it with you.

The lyrics of this hymn were composed by Horatio G. Spafford in 1873, but the years leading up to his penning of this hymn were marked by sorrow and suffering. In 1870, Horatio's only son died as a result of scarlet fever. A year later, Horatio who made much of his living through real estate investments, found himself in financial ruin after the Great Chicago Fire. Wanting to take his family's minds off the tragedies they have just suffered he decided to take them on holiday to Europe, but was called out on business before they were set to sail. Horatio insisted that his family travel on ahead of him and that he would join them later once his business had been resolved. On the voyage to Europe the ship carrying his family collided with another ship and sank. All four of his daughters perished in the sinking, but his wife survived. 9 days later Horatio received a telegram from his wife saying "Saved Alone". Horatio quickly boarded the next ship bond for Europe so that he could join his grieving wife. As he made his voyage across the ocean then captain called Horatio to the bridge and pointed out that the spot they were now passing over was the place that they believed his daughters had died. It was then that he returned to his cabin and wrote the lyrics which he took from 2 Kings 4:26.

After reading his incredible story I was in awe. Here is this man who had lost his home, his possessions, his children and still he was able to say it is well with my soul because he was assured of the salvation that comes from Christ. And I thought to myself why am I evening complaining. I have a home, I have clothing, I have food and I have my family. I have lost nothing in comparison with this man. If he can say after all that "it is well" then there is no reason why I shouldn't be able to say "it is well" with me. So at that point I released my grip of control on the situation and turned it back over to God. It is well with my soul because God is my salvation, because He is faithful and because He is in complete control.