Praising God Amidst Our Trials
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.’
As we sing It Is Well With My Soul at church, the words might touch us. They might even pierce our hearts as we think about the great love of Jesus. So often, as with many of the songs we sing and the verses we read, we only see the finished product. But what went into the writing of this beautiful song?
Though Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
In 1873, Horatio G. Spafford had made plans with his family to take a vacation from Chicago to Europe. Due to business concerns, he sent his family ahead and he was to meet up with them when business settled down. Shortly thereafter, Spafford received a telegram from his wife explaining that their ship had sunk with their four daughters on it. After boarding the next ship to Wales, Spafford wrote the words to the poem we know so well.
My sin – oh, the bliss of this glorious thou’t! –
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!
Jesus endured death on the cross for the joy of eternal fellowship with you. The result of so great a sacrifice is that we no longer need bear the weight of our own sins, but we are able to walk in the liberty that we, as children of the living God, have in Christ. “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17). “Having forgiven you all trespasses…He has taken [our sin] out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13,14).
And, Lord, haste the day when my 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.
In times of adversity, it is only natural for us to cling to that which is most familiar. As we see in the words of this hymn, that which was most familiar to Spafford was the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We also look to find hope in something. Spafford found solace in “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). As members of the Body of Christ, we are always to remember that Christ, our head, is in ultimate control of all that we do! Praise God because He is in control of everything, even when it seems that everything is out of control!
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