It Is Well

So let go my soul and trust in Him. The waves and wind still know His name.

2 Kings 4:26 Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.

I love the story in 2 Kings 4. My summary of the story in 2 Kings 4 is this:

Elisha the prophet went through the town of Shunam quite a bit. A Shunammite woman always offered bread to Elisha when he would pass by. He came that way so much that her and her husband made him a bed at their house for him to stay when he came by that way. The man and woman found favor in Elisha’s eyes. Elisha told them she would have a son within the year and she did just like he said. When he was older, he fell ill and died. The Shunammite woman laid him on Elisha’s bed in their house and got on a donkey to go to Elisha. Her husband asked why she was going to see Elisha and she answered IT IS WELL. When she got close, Elisha saw her and sent his servant to get her. Elisha’s servant asked if everything was okay she replied IT IS WELL. Even thought her little son had died, she said it is well. She fell before Elisha’s feet. He knew something was wrong and she was “vexed in her soul”. She asked him did she not desire a son and to not deceive her. Elisha knew something was wrong with her son so he and the woman traveled back to her house, where he saw the boy was dead. He prayed to God & the child came back to life.

What gets me about this story, is that the Shunammite woman continually said IT IS WELL. Her circumstances were horrible. She lost the son that God had given her, but she refused to let that bring her down. I’ve said it before but attitude can make such a HUGE difference in your life.

I think sometimes in life we focus so much on the circumstances. We become blinded by all the bad things, unhappiness and the negativity that we forget that God can help us. We take on a poor attitude and outlook (I’m so guilty of this). The Shunammite woman was heartbroken! Her son that she never expected to have had died. Loosing a child would be devastating. She knew the only way she would get through and the only way to get help was to go to the man of God.

My soul has been weary and unsettled. I just feel burnt out and exhausted. I have had a bad attitude and have been in a bad overall mood for a long time. I was praying this morning, God please help me in my time of unhappiness and heartache I can’t take this anymore! The song It Is Well With My Soul came to mind. I LOVE when God speaks to me like that. I started singing it to myself. Then I looked it up on YouTube because I couldn’t remember the words. I am horrible with remembering words to songs! I listened to the Hymn version and saw a video It Is Well by Kristene DiMarco & Bethel Music. I listened to it and was just overwhelmed with peace. I loved the line “So let go my soul and trust in Him. The waves and wind still know His name.” It just spoke to me. No matter how the storms may rage in my life God still has power over them! The winds and oceans have to obey God. He is in control and I can say IT IS WELL!

I have a hard time of letting go sometimes. I try to take things on myself. I am strong-willed and independent. I hate for anyone to do something for me, I’d rather just do it myself. I struggle a lot with letting go and letting God handle my circumstances. In the past few years I’ve learned more and more how to do this. I just feel like I’m burdening God with things that are silly or don’t matter. God cares about me and he cares about what I am going through. He loves us. He loves us so much, he gave his ONLY son to die on a cross for OUR sins. We just have to get over ourselves and surrender to him. Even though circumstances haven’t changed, I know God can change them. If he doesn’t, he will get me through! I know God hears my prayers! There is peace in that alone. Through it all I am going to say IT IS WELL!!

Below is a link to the YouTube version of It Is Well by Kristene DiMarco & Bethel Music as well as a link to It Is Well (Elisha’s Song) by the Isaacs

God bless!

Iva Mae

It Is Well by Kristene DiMarco & Bethel Music

https://youtu.be/YNqo4Un2uZI

It Is Well (Elisha’s Song) by The Isaacs

https://youtu.be/w87KlbHCZJw

Change Your Attitude

The past few weeks I’ve been struggling with not feeling good enough. I see all these people younger than me who have homes and kids and it gets me down. It’s hard not to compare myself to others sometimes. I am not where I thought I’d be at 26, but I’m where I am supposed to be. I feel like such a brat sometimes! I have it so good but yet I seem to always want more.

 

I am blessed more than I could imagine. My husband and I both have jobs. We are both physically able to work. We have a wonderful marriage. I have a roof over my head, food to eat and clothes to wear. A lot of people around the world don’t have most of those things. One day my husband and I will be able to afford to live in our own place and we will have kids. It’s just not meant to be right now. Later I’ll understand why. We all have to endure different things. We can get really down on ourselves if we focus on what we don’t have instead of all the things we are blessed to have.

 

I read Proverbs 31 yesterday and I got angry. I have always struggled with Proverbs 31. I have never felt like a Proverbs 31 woman. I feel like I’m constantly trying to keep up with everything. I was thinking about all that I had to do this week and it overwhelmed me. It seems like I’m constantly struggling with wanting to spend time with my husband and trying to tackle to mountain of dishes and laundry. I would rather play video games with my husband or snuggle and watch a movie.

 

Sometimes I think that the Proverbs 31 woman was Wonder Woman. She seemed to work all day, take care of her family, work into the night and never need sleep. Plus, she was strong. She seems like a character in a fairy tale. Women today struggle with so much! We have pressure to be the perfect wife, homemaker, mother, employee, chef, & baker. I look at myself and think well I am not perfect at any of those things. I am not even a mother, homemaker, chef or baker. What if the Proverbs 31 woman status is not attainable for me?

 

I started thinking and I realized God made each of unique in our abilities, strengths and weaknesses. Like the kid’s song says, “I am weak but HE is strong”. I may never be a homemaker, a mother, baker or chef, but I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I can strive to be wise, honest, kind and true. The Proverbs 31 woman clothes herself with strength and honor. She speaks with wisdom and kindness. She is not idle. She is the woman who prays for her husband and her family. She doesn’t gossip or spend hours worrying about what others think about her. She is too busy taking care of the ones she loves and serving God.

 

I may not be able to change the situation I am in, but I can change my attitude and realize that in God’s time my dreams will come true. Until then I need to keep serving him and praising him for what I do have. God has been way too good to me for me to be ungrateful now.

 

Phillipians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know unto God.”

 

God Bless! Hope this helps someone as much as it helped me.