It is Well with my Soul.  Ephesians 2.11-22

Finally!  I had been driving slowly by my neighbor’s home for days, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, so I could offer my support in a natural way, without unnaturally intruding.  Yesterday, as I was almost home, I saw her backing out of her driveway.  I threw my car into ‘park’, and ran across the street.  “Hi, I heard your husband has been sick … I was wondering if there is something I can do … can I bring you a meal?” (Another neighbor had told me he had been diagnosed with Mesothelioma—that’s all I knew—not when, stage, anything else)  “No, I don’t need anything,” she said, completely exhausted, “he died yesterday.”  Mother’s Day will forever be blighted for my friend.

I pulled open her car door, and fiercely embraced her.  “I’ve lost my best friend in the whole world,” she said.  “Oh, I know … I do know how the two of you were… I am so sorry.”  Turns out, it had been sudden … he was in treatment, and something had gone wrong; they had been hopeful about the next months of treatment and being together, only … well, now they weren’t. 

Sadness grips her, but with time, she will know some kind of peace.  Louise knows her man loved God and had a relationship with him; she knows where he is now.  She has the satisfaction of the eternal hope of Jesus Christ, and the certainty she will be with her husband again.

Peace … hope.  On a bit of a different note, can you have peace in this world without hope?  I am talking about internal peace--peace of mind, a sense of calm, and the absence of worry.  Call me crazy, but I do not think there is any kind of real or lasting peace without Jesus.  He cleanses, forgives, makes a way for us, fills us with himself, and promises never to leave us alone. 

In this second chapter of Ephesians, Paul wrote of men before they knew God, saying, “You lived in this world without hope and without God … Christ came and preached the Good News of peace to all

Paul said Christ brought the message of peace, and taught the message of peace; even in this aspect of faith in God, Christ brought radical change … partly because of the eternal hope being satisfied.  Internal peace because of eternal hope – both made possible through Jesus Christ. 

Most people understand hope as wishful thinking, as in "I hope something will happen." This is not what the Bible means by hope. The biblical definition of hope is "confident expectation."¹ Hope, as we are talking about it—related to Jesus Christ--is a firm assurance regarding things that are unclear and unknown by those outside of him.  That said, the righteous, who have this trustful hope in God, also can have a general confidence in God's protection and help and care for them.  Paul wrote to the Romans, “We were given this hope when we were saved…”²

Peace is the emotion of faith.  It is an emotion, not of the head, but of the heart.³ Peace is that condition of heart that communicates to us that God is fully involved in our situation.  Once our heart is assured that all will be well, peace comes. Which reminds me of one of my very favorite hymns in all the world:  It is Well with my Soul. Click to listen/watch:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HLyhEdh92E

I am praying it will be well again for my friend, my neighbor … and O, I pray it is well with your heart and mind, well with your soul today!