It is Well with My Soul

It is well, it is well, with my soul. Some of us may know the hymn and the story behind this hymn quite well, but it is always worth retelling. Horatio Spafford was said to have penned this hymnal during a ship journey where "well" may be the last word you would use to describe Spafford's circumstances. Spafford was a well-known lawyer in Chicago in the middle of the 19th century. He had wealth, respect, and a large family consisting of four daughters and an only son. But what would be the beginning of a string of tragedies began-- his son passed away at age four, the next year brought the fires that destroyed Chicago and much of Spafford's investments. In 1873, Spafford decided to take his family on holiday in England, but was delayed because of business. His wife and daughters went ahead on the ship the Ville Du Havre, and the ship was struck by another vessel, killing 226 people, including all four of Spafford's daughters. His wife sent a telegram once in England that stated "Saved Alone." It was on the journey over the Atlantic to meet his wife that Spafford put the words down to "It is Well with My Soul."

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

(Refrain:) It is well (it is well),

with my soul (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 hath regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

(Refrain)

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

(Refrain)

Given his circumstances, these lyrics reach a depth that speaks to the truth of the Gospel. It seems that the person who places more trust in Jesus, the more resilient and content that they remain in the face of the deepest sorrows. And this isn't a cop-out! It isn't an incorrect or partial reality that makes this possible, but a full reality that is only found in the Gospel. If Christ had flown from the cross, we too might fly from our problems through only choosing to think positively, or to escape in the infinite ways the world offers, or to meditate our problems out of our heads. We might find some healthy coping mechanisms, or we might plunge into our own destructive patterns, but in the end, we never would truly enter into the sorrow. But Christ died on Calvary so that we might face our sorrows head on, entering into them with God's promise, and finding the Joy through the sorrow. If we hadn't a God who died, then we would never know resurrection. And without knowing resurrection as a reality, then we are not equipped to honestly and fearlessly face the sorrows of life that we will all experience.

I look at Spafford's circumstances and see a man, who, if the Gospel weren't true and didn't have true power, would have crumbled under the immense tragedy that had befallen him. And who could have blamed him? Such circumstances we are, most of us, fortunate to avoid. Had he been bolstered by a good philosophy, or good religion, or a combination thereof, his fate may have been different. If we are putting all of our trust in ourselves, our own abilities, our capabilities to maintain and hold things together, then we really are no match for unexpected tragedy. We may think we are god over our own fate, but our control is a delusion, and it only works when things are going our way.

Consider what Christ said in the book of Matthew, chapter 7: 24"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock." Like Edward wrote in 1834, On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

The Gospel doesn't ask us to avoid trouble, or to see trouble and struggle as an illusion. The Gospel asks us to look at the mighty cross and see how the darkest trouble of all is defeated, that with every death there is a resurrection, and that no matter what may befall us, we have been rescued and ransomed. We don't go, therefore, with fake smiles, or have trite answers in the face of tragedy. We grieve, but we do not despair. Our hearts may break, but our hope is in the greatest promise of redemption, renewal, and resurrection. And for this, Horatio Spafford, a man who suffered immeasurably, could say, with breaking heart, that "It is well with my soul."