It Is Well With My Soul
Daniel Hope
Horatio Spafford lived in Chicago in the latter part of the 19th century. By the 1870’s Mr. Spafford had established a successful law practice and had invested heavily in real estate. While he was away for business one week, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 swept through the city and destroyed much of his law practice and properties.
Not long after he and his family recuperated from this tragedy, they decided to take a vacation. They planned to visit France and Switzerland and then join a good friend of theirs who was on an evangelistic tour through Europe. Due to last minute business, Mr. Spafford sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him to France on the French liner S. S. Ville du Havre, promising to meet them in France as soon as possible.
On its way across the Atlantic, the S. S. Ville du Havre was struck by a British iron sailing vessel. Within hours the French liner sank, and 226 passengers drowned. Four of these 226 were the Spaffords’ four daughters. After arriving in Cardiff, Wales with the other survivors, Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband: "Saved alone."
Upon receiving the news, Mr. Spafford booked passage on the first ship to Wales. As this ship glided across the ocean, the captain pointed out to the crew the approximate spot where the tragic accident had occurred. That night, in deep grief, Mr. Spafford penned the words to It Is Well With My Soul.
The first verse of this great hymn faces the fact that there will occasionally be storms in this life. "When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll…." That’s the bad news. But the good news is that you can peace during life’s storms. "…Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, It is well with my soul…." You see, it will not always be well with your family or your marriage or your job or your friendships or your body, but it can always be well with your soul. We don’t have a choice as to whether or not we’ll have storms, but we do have a choice as to how we handle storms. We can either handle the storms of life with fear or with faith. Like Peter, we can focus on the storm and sink, or we can focus on the Savior and walk more closely with Him during life’s storms.
In the second verse Spafford turns his attention to the single greatest peace-making act in the history of the world—the cross. My favorite phrase in my favorite verse of this—my favorite—song is toward the beginning of verse two. Spafford begins, "My sin—…," but it is as if his pen cannot keep up with the abundance of emotion overflowing from his heart. His heart takes control of his hand, and he continues, "…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…." Passages like Isaiah 53:4-6 clearly reveal sin’s journey from me to the tree. It’s simple…God placed our sins on Jesus, and Jesus placed our sins on the cross. And in paying the price for our sins Jesus enabled humanity to once again enjoy peace with God. He "made peace through the blood of His cross" (Col. 1:20 NKJV).
This song concludes by faithfully anticipating the day when all wrongs will be righted, all scales will be balanced, and all persons will be judged. The day when Christ returns and ushers His children into an eternal peace is the day that we await with eager anticipation.
The clear message of the song is two-fold: (1) No Jesus…No peace. (2) Know Jesus…Know peace.
Maybe it’s time you ask yourself, "Do I know Jesus?" After all, He is the only way to peace.