It Is Well
He got the news from his wife, “saved alone…” Their four daughters had drowned, pulled out of their mother’s arms by the strong current. Only she had survived. Not long before, the couple had lost their only son. All of their children, gone in the blink of an eye.
As he traveled to meet up with his wife, he passed the place where his daughters had lost their lives. Grieving, he tucked himself away and began to write.
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.
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 hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for 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!
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when the 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.
Horatio Spafford wrote this poem in the late 1800s, and it was turned into a song that is still sung today. Amy Carmichael once said, “a cup brimful of sweetness cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, no matter how suddenly jarred.” Surely Spafford was suddenly, intensely jarred - and sweet water was spilled.
If you are jarred, dear Christian, what will you spill? When the waves of life jostle you to spill a drop, or many drops - will the water be bitter or sweet?
If it be bitter, take heart. Repent and be comforted by His forgiveness. It is hard to imagine spilling sweet water after devastating loss, such as Spafford experienced. Sweet water from the depths of our beings must come from complete satisfaction and trust in our Lord. It cannot be manufactured on our own; there will be trials far beyond what we can muster strength and grace for.
Has He saved you? Taken your sins and nailed them to the cross, that you bear them no more? If He can conquer this feat, He is trustworthy for all the rest.
He who made the stars, does He not know the hairs on our heads? He who tells the wind to blow, the sun to shine - does He not see our frames and know our trials before they arrive? “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Rest in Him.
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.
