I am a musician, and I love almost all music. I play piano, I sing, and I am in a band. I am not a musical snob - I will play or sing almost anything, as long as it has a tune, and I will probably find something to enjoy about it.
For example, I often listen to contemporary Christian music, and even sing it on a regular basis. The message is usually simple but direct, and I like that. Faith is complicated. Sometimes it is nice to have a simple concept to draw on. But I wonder... will these songs still be sung in five years? Do they, sometimes, lack substance?
The music that really speaks to my heart and soul is the old time hymns, the ones that have been around for a hundred years or more. It isn't just the tune, or even the words. It's the place they emanated from, deep in the soul of the composer, which continue to speak to me in the 21st century. From Amazing Grace to What A Friend We Have In Jesus, the words carry a power to move me. Mostly taken from Biblical passages and life experiences, they are timeless because they transcend the profane and temporary world in which we live and take us to a sacred place.
One of my favorite gospel hymns is It Is Well With My Soul. I have always instinctively found it comforting in times of distress, and some years ago I learned the story behind it. Dramatic and heartbreaking, yet filled with hope, and like the very best gospel music, it inspires and encourages me in my own faith.
This weekend, my band will be singing this song, and we decided that the congregation should have some background, because it is so powerful. I thought I had better do a little research to be sure of my facts, and found out even more about the author of the words than I originally knew. I share it here, because it is a story of faith, of hope and of how even though life is not always what we want, God can still take any situation and bring good into it.
It Is Well With My Soul was written by Horatio Spafford, a successful and wealthy Chicago lawyer and businessman, and also a devout Christian. Among his close friends were several famous evangelists, including Dwight L. Moody. But faith, no matter how great, does not spare us from adversity.
After a very successful early life, his son died at age 4 in 1871. Later that same year, his fortune literally went up in smoke during the great Chicago Fire. Having invested heavily in real estate along Lake Michigan’s shoreline, he lost everything that night, including his law firm and his house. The insurance company refused to pay him for his lost property, because they said the fire was “An Act of God".
But he didn’t give up. He began rebuilding his fortune. To give his wife and four daughters respite from their troubles, as well as wishing to join and assist Moody and musician Ira Sankey in one of their campaigns in Great Britain, Spafford planned a European trip for his family in November 1873. He unexpectedly had to remain in Chicago, but sent his wife and four daughters as scheduled on the S.S. Ville du Havre, planning to follow in a few days.
After being struck by a Scottish ship about four days later, their ship sank in 12 minutes, and he lost his 4 daughters. His wife survived and sent him a famous telegram which simply read, "Saved alone, what shall I do?" Mr. Spafford booked passage on the next available ship and left to join his grief-stricken wife. During his journey, the captain called Spafford to his cabin and told him they were over the place where his children were drowned. According to his daughter, Bertha, born after the tragedy, Spafford wrote It Is Well With My Soul while on this journey, possibly on that day.
This is most well known part of the story, but it does not end there. In 1878, a daughter, Bertha, was born and, two years later, a son Horatio joined their family. An epidemic of scarlet fever broke out, and their baby son died. Following his death, ugly rumors started circulating through their church, with people asking what the Spaffords had done that God could be punishing them in this way.
How heartbreaking, how completely shattering, to have gone through so much, and been so steadfast, only to have your faith challenged and questioned by the very people you counted on for spiritual succor. The grief must have been nearly unbearable, and yet they persevered in their unwavering belief that God had a plan for them still.
They ultimately left the Fullerton Presbyterian Church, which Horatio had helped to build. A group of Spafford's friends also left with them, and together they all decided to seek solace and God's guidance in Jerusalem. Immediately after the birth of their daughter, Grace, in 1881, the Spaffords set out for Jerusalem with a group of thirteen adults and three children. They started a Christian commune, from which they lived their faith, ministering to everyone around them, including caring for refugee orphans from WWI Europe. How fitting that God brought them to the place where they could provide hope to others because of their own tragedies.
We cannot stop bad things happening in life. We cannot prevent betrayal by people we trust. But no matter what circumstances the world imposes, like Spafford, you can trust that when God is with you, all is well with your soul.
***Note: Although this information was gleaned from a variety of sources, most of it came from the Library of Congress, Information about the American Colony in Jerusalem, 1870-2006.
