Hello People,
Hope you all had a great weekend? On my last blog entry I felt compelled to write about this three words- "it is well" and I said I would conclude on my next entry. Well here goes. Sorry this is coming a bit late. Part 1 can be found here.
I am not sure how many of you have heard/sang this great hymn “It is Well with my Soul”. I love the song so much because the words are so profound and deep. I decided to do some research on the song and the person who was inspired to write it and this was what I found.
This hymn was written by Horatio Gates Spafford a famous Chicago lawyer. Looking at the title of the song you would probably think this man had it all together- family, money, wealth and all the good things in life. Well initially he did till he suffered unthinkable personal catastrophe.
First of all, his only son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later, there was a great fire that destroyed a large estate he had heavily invested in. As a result of this he lost so much money. Am guessing by now some of us would think there is definitely someone after this man (maybe some old woman in the village). Anyway to get away from all the calamity around him, he decided to take his family on holiday to England. As they were getting ready to depart, some last minute business came up which kept Spafford behind. He decided to send his family ahead of him. Nine days later, Spafford received a telegram from his wife in Wales saying "Saved alone." Apparently the ship they were on collided with another ship and sank! Only his wife survived, while their four daughters died.
When he heard the terrible news, Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved wife. On his way, the captain of the ship he was on, called him and showed him the spot where the ship sank. He then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of his great hymn- It is Well with My Soul.
Sad as it is, this song reveals a man whose trust was in the Lord because how else can you write a song saying it is well with your soul with so many catastrophe in your life none stop! I am not sure how many of us have experienced half as much sorrow and it would be difficult to predict what we would do under similar circumstances. However, the fact still remains that even though bad things happen in life, God is still a good God and we should put our trust in him. Who else could we even depend on except the Omnipresence and Omniscience (is everywhere and knows all) Hmm...I think I should stop here before i start a whole new topic!
Below are the lyrics of this great song
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.
Chorus-
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 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!
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.
I hope this song makes some sense to you like it made sense to me.
My prayer is that as we move into the next quarter of this year 2008, it is well with us no matter the circumstances that come our way. If God is on our side, no one, nothing can be against us.
God bless!
