It Is Well With My Soul

 

It seems that most of you know the song, "It Is Well With My Soul."  It is a song that is most often associated with funerals and other such occasions. 

 

            When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blessed assurance control,

That Christ has 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!

 

It is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

I am not sure if you know the story behind the song but it tells us a remarkable story about faith and trust in God.  The family of a Chicago lawyer, Horatio Spafford, boarded a large vessel traveling from the U.S. to England.  During the cruise, the ship collided with another ship and his four daughters drowned.  His wife's life was spared and as Horatio was sailing to reunite with his wife, he was notified that the ship was sailing over the exact spot where the girls were thought to have drowned.  The words of this song represent what he wrote during this dark time in his life and his desire to praise God even in the storm.

 

I always think of this song when there are things happening in the world today like hurricanes, cancer, and other life-threatening events.  Last week, my question was "Why?" to a friend dying at a young age of 37.  This week, I wonder why God would allow a hurricane to decimate a small island such as Haiti.  Have they not had enough destruction and/or natural disasters?  Yet, I also saw a picture in a Haitian village of one of the orphanages before the storm.  The workers and the children were holding hands in a circle and singing Praises to God.  For some of them, that could have been the last thing they actually did before God called them home.

 

Many of you are struggling with various things such as unemployment, death of a loved one, broken down cars, broken down children, and long-term illnesses.  You probably have questioned "why?" a few times, yourself.  When the answers do not seem to come, this song reminds us that God is listening and He will always be faithful in answering our prayers even if it seems He is not.  I think that God is okay when we question Him but I think that His ultimate purpose in each and every situation is for us to trust Him and to believe that He has a plan and that He is working everything out for our own good, in every situation.  The churning waters and the rushing winds of Hurricane Matthew provide a great visual for our lives; things are always churning and we are always rushing to get things done and on to the next thing.  However, just as the winds and the waves will slow down in that Hurricane, God will slow us down to see Him in the wind and the waves of our lives so that we, too, can say, with full confidence and assurance, "It is well with my soul."