It Is Well with my Soul?
“It is Well with my Soul” is a hymn written by Horatio Spafford in 1873 and one that we sung this past Sunday at the 8:30 AM service. This hymn has always troubled me. Not because of what it says but because of the circumstances around when it was written. Horatio Spafford wrote the lyrics to this hymn after several traumatic events in his life. The first event was the loss of his only son at the age of four. Then the Chicago Fire of 1871 left him in financial ruin. Finally, while his wife and 4 daughters were sailing to Europe from Chicago their boat was stuck by another boat and all 4 of his daughters were lost. It was shortly after the last incident that Spafford wrote this hymn that so many of us love. But how? How was he able to write such words like: “When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll”?
To be honest, I am jealous of the faith that Horatio Spafford must have had to write those lyrics. With all that has taken place in 2020, I wish I could honestly say, “It is well with my soul.” But it is not. My soul is disturbed by the lack of progress we have had in racial reconciliation. My soul is saddened by the great division we find our country in. My soul is burdened by the selfishness of people that put their own interests and desires before their neighbor. My soul longs for God to do something! Then I remember something I have learned from Scripture about my soul. God did not make a body and a soul formed in it. Rather, God formed the body from the dust, then, by breathing divine breath into it, God made the body of dust come alive with a soul created from the presence of God!
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Our soul comes from the very presence of God and thus yearns for that presence. In Psalm 42, the Psalmist asks his on soul why it is so saddened and realizes that it is yearning for God’s presence. Psalm 42 begins with the imagery of deer panting for water. What does a deer do when it is thirsty? Does it lie down and question where the water is? No! The deer sets out in search of quenching waters. If your soul is weary it is most likely that it is desiring the presence of God.
Horatio Spafford endured some of the most difficult tragedies of life and wrote some of the most inspiring and beautiful lyrics to any hymn. I believe he was able to do so because he never stopped seeking the presence of God even in the darkest times. This Sunday, we will be ending our Hope Epidemic series with the “5 R’s of Hope” that I believe will help set us all on a path for a hope that endures even the most difficult of times. Join us this Sunday for in-person or online worship at 8:30 AM or 10:45 AM as we all seek to get things right with our souls.
In God’s grip,
Pastor Chuck Church
