Tranquility in Tragedy

When peace like a river, attendeth my way, 
When sorrows like sea billows roll; 
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to *know*
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (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!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of 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,
*A song in the night, oh my soul!* 

Many of you know this song. Although, you may be more familiar with later versions in which the word know (first stars) was changed to “say”, and the last line (second stars) was changed to “even so it is well with my soul”. But these are the words as they were originally penned by Horatio Spafford, 

This song is so uplifting, so bright and full of peace and a hint of joy. But as some of you may know. This song was written following a series of horrific tragedies in Spafford’s life. 

Horatio Spafford was a wealthy, and influential, lawyer and investor in Chicago. He had invested in real estate early in the spring of 1871. When the Great Chicago Fire struck the city in October of the same year, Spafford was very nearly financially ruined. 

Spafford was friends with the evangelist Dwight L. Moody (before he was ruined, Spafford had been one of Moody’s financial supporters). Shortly after the fire, when he had made up enough funds through his law firm, Spafford decided his family needed a vacation from tragedy, and decided to go to England where Moody would be preaching. His wife Anna, and four daughters were to go with him. When he was delayed with zoning issues regarding the Chicago properties which had burned, he sent his family ahead, planning on joining them within the week. 

Not long after their departure, he received word that the ship his family had been on, The SS Ville du Havre (the SS City Harbor) had been sunk while crossing the Atlantic after the collision with a seagoing vessel. Spafford waited anxiously for news of how his family had fared, finally receiving the now famous telegram from his wife, “Saved alone.” All four of his daughters had died. 

Spafford rushed to England to meet with his grieving wife. He spoke with the captain of his vessel and asked the man to alert him when they would be passing the location of the site of the Ville du Havre’s sinking. 

It was as he passed this exact spot that Spafford was inspired to pen these words of hope and peace. A remarkable feat. Spafford originally called the lyrics City Harbor after the ship that had sunk. Later, when music was composed by Philip Bliss the name was changed to “It is well with my soul.” 

Spafford’s tragedy was not yet over. Spafford and his wife had three more children; two daughters, Bertha, and Grace; and a son, Horatio Goetner. Horatio died at age four of Scarlett Fever. When the Presbyterian Church asserted that Spafford’s family tragedies had been divine punishment for unresolved sin, their family left the Presbyterian Church, starting their own church. Ultimately, they chose to turn their tragedy into the continuation of God’s will, and they moved to Jerusalem with other members of their new church. They founded a ministry later called the American Colony, which was later joined by Swedish Christians. They engaged in missionary work amongst the people of Jerusalem, regardless of race, nation, religion, or creed, and ultimately set an amazing example of faith in the region. The American Colony later played a critical role in supporting the region at the end of World War I. 

The colony was also the subject of the Nobel Prize winning novel Jerusalem, by Swedish author Selma Lagerlof. 

John 16:33 (ESV) says “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Horatio Spafford’s life is remarkable. He and his family found a way to turn every one of their tragedies into the good of The Kingdom. Spafford wrote what were arguably some of the most hopeful lyrics in any hymn book in any Christian church while passing the site where his daughters had died. 

And Habakkuk 3:17-19 says “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. “ Spafford knew that when we are truly with Christ, no matter what tragedy we face, we can find peace in the Lord. Not only that, but in our tragedies we should seek ways to praise Him. 

Luke 4:18 (ESV) says “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” Spafford chose to take his tragedy, and turn it toward taking other’s tragedies and turning them toward joy in the Lord. There is no better way to deal with tragedy, suffering, pain, and loss, than to seek out God and through Him seek to help others find that same peace. 

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6l.

Precedence and Prioritization

I heard a story today about a college professor who was teaching a class. I'm paraphrasing. I know normally I would follow this with my opinion and some Bible verses which either support or complicate my opinion, but I like to think this story speaks for itself.

The teacher went into the class with a large, empty, bulk mayonnaise jar. The professor had eight silver bowls sitting on his desk. From the first bowl he poured golf balls into the jar until he reached the top.

He then asked his students, "is the jar full?" They replied yes. From the next bowl he then poured pebbles into the jar, shaking it until the pebbles settled into the spaces between the golf balls, and adding all the pebbles until they reached the top. 

"Now is it full?" he asked. They replied yes again. From the next bowl he poured in sand, shaking, and pouring until all the sand was gone, filling in the cracks between the pebbles, and the sand reached the top of the jar.

"Is the jar full now?" he asked. Chuckling now, the class replied that, yes, it was.

From the last bowl on his right he picked up a glass pitcher of lemonade. He poured the lemonade into the jar, filling up all the spaces between the sand grains.

"How about now?" he asked. Laughing, and fairly certain this time they were right, they said yes.

"This jar is your life," the professor said, "The golfballs represent the important things, God, your spouse, your kids, your family, the things that are so important that even if we have nothing else in our lives, our life is full. The pebbles represent the material things that are also very important, your house, your job, your car. The sand represents everything else in your life, the unimportant things."

A girl in the third row asked, "What does the lemonade represent?" 

"I'm glad you asked, it shows that when your priorities are right, there is always time left to fill with having a cool drink with friends on a hot day."


"Ok, let's do this again." He removed the empty bowls, shifted the jar to his right, and picked another equally large jar up from under his desk.

This time he picked up the lemonade first, and poured it into the jar.

"Is the jar full?" he asked.

Because it was the same amount of lemonade as the first time, it didn't fill the jar. He then added the sand. It sunk into the lemonade and was a little less than the top of the lemonade. But it still only filled the jar about halfway.

"Is the jar full?" The students murmured, disconcerted by where they saw this going, clearly the jar was not full.

 Then he added the pebbles, and they filled up the top of the lemonade, and almost all the way to the top of the jar. This time he just looked at his students, saying nothing.

 Then he pulled out the golf balls. There was room only for one of the many golf balls which had fit in the other jar. In fact, by putting in even the single golf ball some of the pebbles were knocked out of the jar.

"This jar is your life, remember," the professor said. "If you start with the unimportant things, or prioritize fun above the important things, your life will never feel full, just like the jar was not full before the important things were added, and when you finally get to adding the important things, you will find there is no longer any room for them. Think about it, in what order do you want to fill your life?"