Present Faith, Future Hope

Each Sunday night, the two teams at my school come together for a time of fellowship.  Our message tonight was entitled "Present Faith and Future Hope" by Alistair Begg and centered on Psalm 16.  My job for the night was to pick music, for which there was no shortage of options; one of the songs that I chose was It is Well.

It's very difficult for me to name a favorite hymn because, in all honesty, I love a lot of hymns.  (Who doesn't love sound theology set to memorable tunes?)  However, I think it's safe to say that It is Well is one of my favorite hymns.  Because every time I sing it, it is a huge challenge to me. 

First of all, it was written by a guy whose family had drowned.  That right there puts it into some perspective; he knew that things didn't necessarily have to be well with your soul.

Second, the first time I remember hearing it was at a funeral.  Any song that you learn at a funeral colors the way you hear it for a long time afterwards. 

Third, we sang it at Geneva the spring of my junior year while we waited together to find out what had become of Devon.  And it seemed like the best song to sing together, acknowledging that life does not work out the way that we would write it for ourselves.  But that, despite all that, God is good and our souls can be well.

I love that this song moves from a discussion of person problems:  the immediate circumstances of life (peace, sorrows) to the assurance that we have (despite Satan and trials, our status rests in the completed work of Christ) to the eternal and overarching end (when He returns.)

My team has been thinking and talking a lot about 2 Cor 4:16-18.

So we do not lose heart.  
Though our outer self is wasting away, 
our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us 
an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison,
as we look not to the things that are seen
but to the things that are unseen.
For the things that are seen are transient,
but the things that are unseen are eternal.

That is our faith and our hope for the future.