It Is Well!!!

Dear Friend,

     So I came across the story of the Shunammite woman some days ago during my quiet time and after studying it much more, came to see it in a new light. I hope you are able to come to the point she came to where she could say that ‘It is well’ even in a painful situation. The story can be found in 2 Kings 4:8-37 but my focus is on verse 26 (King James Version) which says, "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:". Here are some thoughts/lessons from this story.

    I admire the calmness of the Shunem woman from the moments of her son’s sickness to the moment he died. She didn’t panic. The Bible does not account for her beginning to doubt the promises of the Lord concerning her child. She remained calm. Even in the midst of chaos, her faith remained steady.

    It still baffles me that she kept saying “It is well”, “Everything is alright”, (NLT version) throughout the entire situation. I mean who does that?! This is a woman who had no child but then eventually became blessed with a miracle child as a result of her service to the man of God Elisha, only for her to lose this same child a few years later. Hmmm!

    I think her repeated affirmation that “It is well” was a sign of faith on her part. She was speaking by faith, believing that God who gave her that child would bring him back to life again. She did not bother sending news around that her son was dead. Instead, she immediately sought for the man of God. And it was only when she got to him that she finally opened up and exposed her true emotions. What do I do when faced with bad news? Do I run around crying to human or do I immediately run to my closet and pour out my heart in prayer?

    This woman was a relentless woman. She insisted that the prophet return with her even when he sent his servant ahead of him with his staff to lay on the child. Her relentless efforts were rewarded when her son was brought back to life by God’s mighty power.

    The writer of the famous hymn ‘It is Well’ Horatio G. Spafford, wrote that hymn after losing his four daughters to a sunken ship. What faith to still say it is well in such distress! You may read the full story here: 

https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-it-is-well-with-my-soul

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    How do I respond to chaotic situations around me? Am I calm and collected through it or am I busy complaining and doubting God’s Word? At such moments, I must put aside calling on any man to help me and run straight to God for help. Most importantly, I must hold on to my faith firmly during such situations. It is my faith that causes me to have the courage to say that “IT IS WELL”, even in the well. I must speak by faith the results I desire even in a chaotic situation because there is power in the tongue! God is the expert of turning chaotic situations into a testimony service. He is my unchangeable changer of humanly unchangeable situations. Halleluyah.

     I leave us with words of the hymn ‘It is Well’:

1. 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.
   • Refrain:
     It is well with my soul,
     It is well, it is well with my soul.
2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
   Let this blest assurance control,
   That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
   And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
3. 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!
4. 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.
5. 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!
6. And Lord, haste the day when the 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.
7. http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/It_Is_Well_with_My_Soul/

#selah

In Christ,

Shanpepe. 

Can I Lose My Salvation?

John 10:27-30 = “My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them away from me. The Father and I are one.”

http://www.av1611.org/images/eternman.jpg

Can I lose my salvation? This question has always plagued me, especially when I hear people comment about it and say that it is possible to lose one’s salvation; as if it is something that can be lost, just like that. Funny enough, let me state this from the onset, it is not so. I cannot lose my salvation if I was truly born again in the first place. When I am born again, there is a transformation in my identity from dog to sheep. Therefore, when it is argued using 2 Peter 2:22 that “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and a pig same, it is a wrong analogy. When I became born again, I became a new person; I became a sheep of Jesus’ fold. Yes, I will fail and fall, but I will not go back to my vomit or wallow in mud. Sin is like vomit and mud, which are contrary to the identity of a new creation (sheep) in Jesus Christ. A true believer is on the search for freedom from sin. As a new creation in fact, grace causes one to live above sin (Romans 6:14).

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                                     ----   ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED!    ----

Now in the verses above, we further see that one who is truly saved cannot lose his/her salvation. Typical of my style of study, we will consider the key words/phrases in the verses which stood out to me.

·       “sheep recognize my voice” – I consider this the point of salvation, when one receives Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. There is a change of identity from dog/pig to sheep which has recognized Jesus’ voice.

·       “know them, follow me” – This is the point where I become known by Jesus as His child and I become His follower, cultivation a relationship with Him. I cannot truly know a person if there is not existing relationship between us.

·       “give eternal life, never perish” -  Salvation comes with eternal life and so once I receive Jesus into my life and He now knows me, I have eternal life and the Bible says I will NEVER perish!

·        “No one will snatch, away from me” – This is the crux of it all! That once I am saved and in Jesus Christ’s grasp, NO ONE can snatch me from His hand. This reminds me of some lyrics in the song IN CHRIST ALONE that say, “No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand…” NO ONE. Not even Satan. NOTHING, not even sin or hardship or failure or addictions, or struggles can snatch me from His hand. His salvation is everlasting and secure. How? Why?

·       “My Father has given them, he is more powerful” – This is they why and the how! How? Because God has given me to Jesus and why? Because He is the most powerful in all the universe! What He gives, no one can take.

·       “No one can take them away” – Here, the word is ‘take’ and not snatch. I see a little but great significance here. To snatch is done with force. To take requires some consent, or some agreement. Well, Jesus will never consent for me to be taken away from His hands of salvation.

·       “My Father and I are one” – There is unity between God the Father and the Son. This powerful force ensures my everlasting salvation and security.

So, can I lose my salvation? NEVER. It is once saved, always saved for a child of God. My sin and failures are not greater than the salvation that Jesus offers. Halleluyah!

#selah 

I hope that this post has blessed you and served as an assurance of your salvation in Christ Jesus.

In Christ,

Shanpepe.