“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” – John 14:27

One of the most moving Christian song ever written is, “ Its well with my soul!” To hear it sung in cathedrals, concerts or at funerals, always leaves one with goose bumps. It has uplifted many through the most difficult of moments, soothing  their weary spirit.

Its coming into being in many ways show how God so often uses difficult situations to bless so many.

In 1871. Horatio Spafford, was one of the wealthiest lawyers, based in Chicago. He was also a devout Christian, along with his wife Ann, and their four daughters. They attended the Presbyterian church where he was an elder. Horatio was active in the abolition crusade to end slavery and his house was a meeting place for activists like Frances E. Willard, president of the National Women's Christian Temperance Union, and evangelical leaders like Dwight Moody, who led a religious revival in America and Europe. Spafford, had invested considerably in real estate and was a generous supporter of Moody’s ministry. But early in 1871 came the Great Fire of Chicago that destroyed Spafford's sizable investment.

Devastated from the loss, Spafford, seeking to recover, two years later, decided to go for a holiday in Europe. But at the last minute he was detained by business, letting Ann and his four daughters to proceed, hoping to join them. No sooner had they left when the ship in which they were had an accident and sank within minutes. All the four children drowned, though Anna survived.

Spafford on receiving the news decided to go and pick up Ann. When he got to the spot where the ship had sunk, in his despair came the words that have brought respite to so many, through generations.

“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… Let this blest assurance control That Christ ...has regarded my helpless estate, And has shed His own blood for my soul. It is well…With my soul..
It is well, it is well with my soul.”

It is said as Annn saw her daughters going down, she said, “God gave me four daughters. Now they have been taken from me. Someday I will understand.” And, indeed, “It is well with my soul” was God’s gift to all of mankind through such a tragedy.

Prayer for today: Lord Father God of heaven, sometimes through tragedies, it is difficult to understand or appreciate the moment; but as the song goes, whatever the difficulty may be, “Its well with my soul” for you are with me, no matter! This I pray in Jesus’s name.