Backstory:
In 1871, Horatio Spafford lost his young son to pneumonia. Later that year, much of his wealth was destroyed by the Great Chicago Fires. In 1873, The Spafford family planned a trip to Europe. Because of business matters, Horatio was delayed and sent his wife and 4 daughters ahead on a ship. The ship was struck by another vessel and sank. Their 4 daughters drowned and his wife was rescued. While crossing the Atlantic to meet his grieving wife, the ship’s captain informed Horatio that they were passing the location where his daughters had died. It was in this moment of immense loss and sorrow that he wrote the words of the hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul”, a testament to his profound and unwavering faith in God’s sustaining presence.

It Is Well With My Soul
When trials seem to overwhelm me 
And I feel like I can’t step into the light to clearly see.
If I ever wonder if my heart will ever be whole,
I should say to myself, “It is well with my soul.”

If I feel like my heart is so heavy that I can’t carry it anymore
And I just might collapse to the floor.
If all the despair in my heart takes a big toll,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

I have days when it’s hard to get out of bed
And I just want to throw the covers over my head.
When my emotions are too strong for me to control
It is still well with my soul.

I can still have hope
Which makes it much easier to cope.
Because of Jesus and His Divine Role
It is well with my soul.

Even when my heart feels empty and in despair
Jesus will always be there for me because I am in His Loving care.
I can set for myself a new goal
That no matter what happens in my life, It is always well with my soul.

The Takeaway: We can learn a lot from stories of people who made it through hard times with faith and hope for the future. We just need to remember that we are not meant to go through this life on our own. Our Savior, Jesus Christ will always be with us. Because of Him, there is always hope no matter what storms are going on in our lives.