It Is Well With My Soul

There has been so much sadness recently.  Yesterday I went to bible study feeling frustrated in my current situation, only to be completely humbled by listening to a few people's prayer requests.  Stories of stage 3 throat cancer found in a young Navy officer with a wife and young kids, a local boy who has been fighting cancer and is now in his last days, the list went on.  I left bible study thankful that my problems seem to be small at this moment.  This week a couple from my home town had to say goodbye to their baby girl who lived less than a month. And today I got news that a girlfriend from high school and her six year old daughter died in a car accident early this morning.  And I can't get the picture out of my head of the cemetery where Case is buried, so many new little ones buried next to him in just two years.  It hits you hard, it put things into perspective again.  Because although through my own sufferings, I would have hoped to gain the perspective to live in the moment and enjoy every second, I forget to do that sometimes.

At this point, what do we do.  When our world is so full of sadness, it seems so hopeless at times.  I was reminded of the hymn, It Is Well With My Soul.  I was told the story of how this hymn was written after Case died.  I thought it fitting for a night like tonight.  I found the history written out on a website:






This hymn was written by a Chicago lawyer, Horatio G. Spafford. You might think to write a worship song titled,
'It is well with my soul', you would indeed have to be a rich, successful Chicago lawyer. But the words,
"When sorrows like sea billows roll ... It is well with my soul”, were not written during the happiest period of 
Spafford's life. On the contrary, they came from a man who had suffered almost unimaginable personal tragedy.

Horatio G. Spafford and his wife, Anna, were pretty well-known in 1860’s Chicago. And this was not just because
of Horatio's legal career and business endeavors. The Spaffords were also prominent supporters and close 
friends of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher. In 1870, however, things started to go wrong. The Spaffords' only 
son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later, it was fire rather than fever that struck. Horatio 
had invested heavily in real estate on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 1871, every one of these holdings was 
wiped out by the great Chicago Fire.

Aware of the toll that these disasters had taken on the family, Horatio decided to take his wife and four 
daughters on a holiday to England. And, not only did they need the rest -- DL Moody needed the help. He was 
traveling around Britain on one of his great evangelistic campaigns. Horatio and Anna planned to join Moody in 
late 1873. And so, the Spaffords traveled to New York in November, from where they were to catch the French 
steamer 'Ville de Havre' across the Atlantic. Yet just before they set sail, a last-minute business development 
forced Horatio to delay. Not wanting to ruin the family holiday, Spafford persuaded his family to go as planned. 
He would follow on later. With this decided, Anna and her four daughters sailed East to Europe while Spafford 
returned West to Chicago. Just nine days later, Spafford received a telegram from his wife in Wales. It read: 
"Saved alone."

On November 2nd 1873, the 'Ville de Havre' had collided with 'The Lochearn', an English vessel. It sank in only 
12 minutes, claiming the lives of 226 people. Anna Spafford had stood bravely on the deck, with her daughters 
Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta clinging desperately to her. Her last memory had been of her baby being 
torn violently from her arms by the force of the waters. Anna was only saved from the fate of her daughters by a 
plank which floated beneath her unconscious body and propped her up. When the survivors of the wreck had 
been rescued, Mrs. Spafford's first reaction was one of complete despair. Then she heard a voice speak to her, 
"You were spared for a purpose." And she immediately recalled the words of a friend, "It's easy to be grateful 
and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God."

Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved 
wife. Bertha Spafford (the fifth daughter of Horatio and Anna born later) explained that during her father's 
voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and
I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." Horatio 
then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of his great hymn.

The words which Spafford wrote that day come from 2 Kings 4:26. They echo the response of the Shunammite 
woman to the sudden death of her only child. Though we are told "her soul is vexed within her", she still 
maintains that 'It is well." And Spafford's song reveals a man whose trust in the Lord is as unwavering as hers 
was.

It would be very difficult for any of us to predict how we would react under circumstances similar to those 
experienced by the Spaffords. But we do know that the God who sustained them would also be with us.

No matter what circumstances overtake us may we be able to say with Horatio Spafford...







When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
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 the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
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.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.