All is Well
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:23
One of my favorite holiday albums is Michael W. Smith’s 1989 masterpiece, Christmas. And one of my favorite songs on the album is “All Is Well.”
Accompanied by full orchestration and an adult choir, it includes the beautiful soprano voices of The American Boys Choir. When I hear the song begin with the haunting voice of one of those boys, I’m especially moved. You might want to pause here to take a listen.
All is well, all is well;
Lift up your voice and sing.
Born is now Emmanuel,
Born is our Lord and Savior.
Sing Alleluia, sing Alleluia, all is well.
All is well?
To hear the words of that song at Christmastime is comforting to many. But some people may find those words to ring hollow this year. They’ve experienced the loss of a loved one or they’re facing a serious illness. They’re grappling with persistent unemployment or they’re struggling with crushing loneliness.
Their hearts loudly cry out, “All is not well – not for me!”
Circumstances would seem to dictate emptiness, complaint, and even despair. “All is not well.”
When you stop to think about it, Joseph and Mary could have murmured those words on that first Christmas. Their comfortable world had been interrupted by an angelic message. And while we consider these two to be so honored to welcome a special baby into their world, it wasn’t without challenge.
Their reputations were marred as Mary got pregnant before the marriage. Their plans were interrupted with a mandated trek to Bethlehem. The birth itself was a far cry from the safe and sanitary norm. Then, all too soon, the family had to flee to Egypt to escape a jealous king. And there they would live as refugees.
“All is well”? Not for that family, it would seem.
Yet, in fact, all was well.
All is well!
Why? In the words of Michael W. Smith because “Born is now Emmanuel…”
Emmanuel – “God with us.”
And as with Joseph and Mary in their challenging and painful circumstances, so with us.
Emmanuel – God is with us.
Not that He takes us out of our struggle, but that He joins us in our struggle. Despite the dark night of the soul, we may experience all is well because of the presence of Christ.
Despite the dark night of the soul, we may experience all is well because of the presence of Christ.
For those of us who celebrate His birth, we rest in the fact that we are not alone in our pain. Emmanuel, God is with us and He promises never to leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). He promises that His grace will be sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9). He promises to supply all our needs (Phil. 4:19). And He promises us the amazing gift of eternal life (John 10:27-28).
As we reflect on God’s promises, we can agree with the poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who wrote, “Before me, even as behind, God is, and all is well.”
“Before me, even as behind, God is, and all is well.”
- John Greenleaf Whittier
PRAYER
Lord, as I struggle with the unique challenges of this Christmas, it so helps me to be reminded that there was no lack of challenge on that first Christmas. Yet as Emmanuel was present then, so He is present now.
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