The Pender UMC Traditional Service Middle Hymn “It is Well With My Soul” on Sunday November 13, 2022 was played by Liz Eunji Moon on piano, directed by Brian Stevenson and sung the Pender Sanctuary Choir and congregation.
The hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" is a profound testimony of faith amidst unspeakable tragedy. Written by Horatio Spafford, a successful Christian lawyer, this hymn emerged from a series of heartbreaking events in his life. His only son died in 1871, and the Great Chicago Fire wiped out his vast estate. In 1873, tragedy struck again when the SS Ville du Havre, carrying his wife Anna and their four daughters, sank after a collision, claiming the lives of all his daughters.
The hymn's words were penned as Spafford traveled to meet his surviving wife, crossing the very waters where his daughters perished. These lines express a deep and unwavering faith in God's sovereignty and goodness, even in the midst of overwhelming grief and loss.
Horatio Spafford, a successful lawyer, faced unimaginable tragedies. Following the heartbreaking death of his young son, his fortune vanished in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The most devastating blow came two years later, when his four daughters perished in a shipwreck, leaving his wife Anna to send a telegram with the haunting words: "Survived alone."
In such moments of profound grief, when we stand amid the ruins of what was or could have been, we grapple with overwhelming sorrow. It's in these depths, however, that we cling to the knowledge that our Redeemer lives, even when feelings of His presence are elusive.
Sorrow can feel heavy, almost tangible, weighing down our very being. In grief, we may find ourselves adrift, tossed about by emotional turbulence, struggling to find the strength to endure. It is in these times that we must surrender our pain to God.
As Horatio Spafford sailed over the Atlantic waters, where his beloved daughters had taken their last breaths, he offered words of worship to God, the sovereign over all sorrows and seas. He entrusted to God all his grief, expressing unwavering trust in the divine through his timeless hymn:
"Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul."
It is Well With My Soul
- When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.- Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
- Refrain:
- Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath 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 the 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.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, I praise You for being the God of peace. I admit Lord that I do not handle trails as I should, and I become way too focused on things that rob me of the peace You offer me in Your Name. Please help me to overcome this tendency and to remain faithful to You, even in the midst of trials. Thank You for never leaving me and always being the God of comfort in all of my troubles. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
