As the high
school chorale prepared to
sing Horatio G. Spafford’s
classic hymn, “It Is Well
With My Soul,” a teen
stepped forward to tell the
song’s familiar history.
Spafford wrote the song
while on a ship that was
near the spot at sea where
his four daughters perished.
As I listened
to that introduction and
then the words sung by the
teenagers, a flood of
emotions washed over me.
“Where his four daughters
perished” were hard words to
grasp as I listened again to
Spafford’s words of faith.
Having lost one daughter
suddenly, I find the idea of
losing four unfathomable.
How could
it be “well” for Spafford in
his grief? I hear the words
“When peace like a river
attendeth my way” and
remember where peace can be
found. Paul says in
Philippians 4 that it can be
found as our heart-prayers
are voiced to God (v.6). By
trustful praying, we
unburden our hearts, divest
our anxieties, and release
the grip on our grief. And
we can gain “the peace of
God” (v.7)—an inexplicable,
divine calmness of spirit.
This peace supersedes our
ability to understand our
circumstances (v.7), and it
is a guard on our heart,
through Jesus, that protects
us enough to allow us to
whisper, even in the pain,
“It is well with my
soul.” —
Dave Branon
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. —Spafford
Jesus
never makes a mistake.