Probably very few if you have heard of Horatio Stafford. He was originally from New York but ended up being a lawyer and settling with his family In Chicago where he became a successful lawyer.
In the 1870s he had invested in buying some real estate and all looked well. He had a great wife, four daughters and a son. But the great Chicago Fire of 1871 changed everything. He lost all his real estate and it really set him back. Yet, he was a man of faith and in fact as a hobby had studied Biblical archaeology and taught Sunday School and worked with hip friend, the great evangelist Dwight Moody, in the early YMCA.
His wife’s doctor recommended that he and his wife needed a break and so he planned on the entire family going by ship to Europe. So, they embarked.
Spafford sent his family up ahead on the Ville de Havre and arranged to join them soon. However, their ship in making its way across the Atlantic accidentally struck another ship and sunk. Spafford’s wife was saved but all four of his daughters perished. It was a horrible blow. Spafford got the telegram and made his way to Cardiff, Wales, to join his wife and other survivors. But on the way, he passed by ship near where his family had perished. While doing that he penned a poem entitled-It Is Well With My Soul. It today is a great hymn that had his good friend Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey set it to music.
Today, we still have that song as a testimony to Spafford’s faith. It may not be sung as much any more but it should be. In it, he talks about the peace that only Christ can give and though he does not use these words which the great Southern Gospel singer Lynda Randle has - they applied. The God of the mountain, is the God of the Valley. Spafford saw that first hand and realized that though he and his wife were crushed, Jesus was with them and sustained them and would see them through. I hope you Google those words or better yet look in a church hymnal to see them. Why? Because sooner or later we go through our own valley experiences.
The critical thing is we need a Savior and a friend that sticks closer than a brother. That is Jesus. Spafford knew through the finished work of Christ on the Cross and His resurrection that he was in God’s hands and ultimately he would see his family again but until then, the Lord would see him through. He knew that all was well with his soul. That above all was vitally important and gave him the peace he needed.
Maybe today, you need that peace but above all you need to be able to say that all is well with your soul. Maybe you are going through trails and temptations of some sort that are beating you down. Maybe you have strayed from the Lord or do not know Him as your Savior and Lord. Then, you need to make that decision to walk with Him and trust your life to Him.
Spafford and his wife were tested again a few years later as they lost their son but that same trust and peace in and with God saw them through. They ended up in Israel and worked with children and missions for the rest of their lives. They did not give up living and trusting the Lord.
It is a story that resonates sooner or later in different forms with all of us. We need Jesus. Billy Graham said life is great but it can be hard at times but in Jesus we have someone who understands and never fails us nor forsakes us. Make sure all is well with your soul and let Him be your strength and shield in good times and bad. He will not fail you.
You may not understand everything but His amazing grace and love will see you through and ultimately to, as Rev. 21:4 reminds us, to a world where there is no pain or tears or sadness.
