Our meditation today focuses on just the first line of verse 3 of Psalm 23: “HE RESTORES MY SOUL”. That’s the part of us that lives forever – either with the Lord in Heaven, or apart from him, with Satan in a lost eternity. Jesus spoke very urgently to this point in Mark chapter 8 when he spoke to his disciples about the cost of discipleship and how we need to prioritise in life. This is what he said: ‘What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul’. This is a chilling statement.
Sadly, in many of our schools today we are offered an impressive marketing line punting their commitment to a holistic education, implying that they cater for every need that the young child or teenager might encounter. Physically, the school has the latest and the best. Mentally, yes, they have great teachers and all the necessary resources, but spiritually the children are left in a vacuum – every child/man to himself. The needs of the soul are simply not addresses or valued.
Without God’s Word, the Bible, there is simply no directive for the wellbeing of the soul. Jesus spoke of that as leaving sheep without a shepherd. Dads and Moms, if you share Jesus’ passion for the soul then that leaves it up to you! This world does not care about your child’s soul! This is nothing new – notice Jesus’ statement when he saw the crowds in His day. Matthew 9:36 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd”. Horatio Spafford, a prominent American lawyer of the 1800’s is best known for penning the words of the well-known Hymn: It is well with my soul. In October 1871 the Great Chicago fire reduced the city to ashes destroying most of Spafford’s investment. Two years later on November 22, 1873, while crossing the Atlantic on the steamship Ville du Havre, the ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel, killing 226 people, including all four of Spafford’s daughters: Annie, age 12; Maggie, 7; Bessie, 4; and an 18-month old baby. His wife, Anna, survived the tragedy. Upon arriving in Cardiff, Wales, she sent a telegram to Spafford that read “Saved alone”. Shortly afterwards, as Spafford travelled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write It Is Well with My Soul as his ship passed near where his daughters had died.
I leave you with two of the verses:
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.
My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
With much Christian Love,
Anton van Stormbroek