All is Well!
The Lookout by Winslow Homer
To get the vision of this painting you must first look beyond the lookout, the alarm bell, and the boat. If we look out of the boat we see the midnight blue of a sky filled with storm clouds. Just beyond the boat, we see the large white-capped waves affecting the boat, for it lists slightly to the starboard side.
The lookout is shouting "All's well" from his vantage point at the top of the boat. We know this because it is the name of the painting. "All's well!" These are two reassuring and happy words.
If we know the Lord of the universe then we are ones that can also say confidently, "All is well!" The winds and storms and waves of life may all roll around us and yet we can still say that "all is well." The Lord loves his children. He cares for them and keeps them in all the trials and tribulations in their lives.
Here is his promise to us from Psalm 91.
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings, you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling — even the LORD, who is my refuge — then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."
Psalm 91: 1-16 NIV
Truly we can say "All is well!"