Day 102 - It Is Well With My Soul

If you have ever been to a more traditional church, chances are you have heard this song.

It Is Well With My Soul is a song that is thought of and used in times of grief and loss.

A song that talks about unwavering faith in the mist of that grief and loss.

These lyrics were pinned by Horatio G Spafford in 1873...

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.

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul...

Whatever my lot? Whatever my lot?

One could easily read those words with an eye-roll and think "That's easy for you to say. What do you know about my pain?"

But this man, Horatio G. Spafford knew pain. 

His son died at the age of 4 from scarlet fever. 

His fortunes were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire.

His four remaining children were drowned in a shipwreck...

All within a few years.

And yet, as he traveled across the very spot where his children had drowned only days before... as he went to retrieve his wife, the lone survivor of his once large family... he wrote It Is Well With My Soul.

My emotional are quite unsuccessfully contained as I think about the pain he must have felt. How he must have been tempted to succumb to fear, anger, and devastation.

Yet he didn't. 

He looked at his life and rather than crying out "Why?", he said to his Heavenly Father, "It is well with my soul".

On Sunday I, along with one of my cousins, will be singing this song at my grandfather's funeral. While we are deeply grieved by the loss, we are so thankful that he is safe in the arms of Jesus.

Father, this year has been a tough one. I have cried more tears and grieved more deeply than I knew I was capable of. You have placed me on this journey to find thanksgiving in every situation and I pray that You are seeing the change in my heart.

Please God, continue to work in my life and the lives of those around me. I pray that I am never faced with such a situation as the Spaffords Lord, but I pray that I would be able to rejoice even in the deepest grief and with a sincere heart say always "It is well with my soul".

If you would like to read the full story behind the song, you can find it here.

Please be praying for my family as we head into the weekend. All of the services and events (there are four) will take place over the next few days.