On Saturday as a loving husband, I drove Teresa to Morehead to attend the funeral of one of the saints of her home church. I figured for as much as she has stood behind me in the past year, one trip to Morehead was the least that I could do.
It was good for some of her friends who have been praying for me to see that I am not quite ready for the grave. Vencil was a saint in the Biblical sense of the word. He had “set apart” his life to serve Jesus in every area of his life. Precious in God’s sight are the deaths of His saints. Several folks shared. A southern gospel quartet, some who are in his extended family, sang. His pastor remembered him well. At the close of the service the quartet led the congregation in the great hymn by Horatio Spafford “It Is Well.” I shared a couple of days ago that singing is one of the things that causes pain in my throat because of the surgery. I “lip-serviced” through the first verse. I couldn’t when we came to the third verse. I know the third verse well. It is a verse that speaks a great truth. “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.” What a marvelous verse. It is practical encouragement for all of us. My sin, not just part of it, but even the grievous sins, were nailed to the Cross when Jesus died. And now I don’t have to bear those sins anymore. All my sin was dealt with at Calvary. All my sin is under the blood of Jesus. Though the thought of them is still grievous to me, the sins of the past do not need to control the present nor take away the possibilities of the future. Jesus bore them for me because I couldn’t bear them on my own. No one can. I could write the whole blog on this third verse. I sang with strength that third verse. I knew it wasn’t likely a good thing for my recovery. Then came one of my favorite verses of any hymn. The fourth verse is this: “And Lord, haste the day when my 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.” I remember one morning in the months before Daybreak started driving to Cynthiana. I was singing “It Is Well.” It was a cloudy morning but as I was singing, the clouds rolled back and the sun began to shine as brightly as you’d ever see it. When I came to the fourth verse the tears began to roll down my cheeks. On Saturday I couldn’t help it. I sang that fourth verse with passion. I could sense that the three young adults who were sitting in the row in front of us were wondering about the guy singing behind them. My voice was as clear as it has been in quite some time. Then I was done. I mumbled through the final chorus. Two days later I am not sure if my voice has recovered from singing for three minutes. But I don’t regret it for a moment. God came in those moments as I sang. I sang as an affirmation of faith to Him and to anyone who was close enough to hear. It is well with my soul. In a very real sense, it is well with the rest of my being right now, too. Physically, emotionally, and relationally. I realize that the issues that I have faced the last 10 months are not over, but lots of them are behind us, at least for now. Some of them I will have to deal with the rest of my life. Who among us doesn’t have things on their plate that are struggles? They ended the funeral in a way that I hadn’t seen, and I have seen a lot of funerals. After the congregation sang “It Is Well” the pianist continued to play and the lead singer sang the first verse again. Vencil’s family walked out first. Next his casket was rolled out. Then the rest of the congregation filed out behind them. I have said for years that when the day comes that my body is rolled out the worship center doors that I would like “Blessed Assurance” to be sung. I have rethought that over this weekend. Singing “It Is Well” might just be the new plan. My faith at that point will be sight.
1 Comment
Richard McInteer
11/6/2023 10:18:38 am
Haste the day, indeed!
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Chuck Cooper
Pastor at Daybreak Community Church Archives
November 2024
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