It is Well with my Soul! The Shocking True Story.
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, it is Well with my Soul!
Let us explore the shocking true story and inspiration behind one of the world’s most loved hymns, it Is Well With My Soul.
David Maegraith published a new retelling of the story, and in this message unpacks the biblical inspirations behind the hymn.
“Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, it is well with my soul.”
Written by Geoffrey Bingham, 1919–2009
Produced By: MESSIAH film.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
(and) When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
“It Is Well with My Soul” written by Horatio Spafford
These are the words to the first verse of the famous hymn written by Horatio Spafford, “It Is Well With My Soul.”
In 1871, wealthy Chicago businessman Horatio Spafford had it all.
A loving wife, four daughters, the friendship of evangelist Dwight L. Moody, and an extensive property empire.
Then it all came crashing down.
The great fire of Chicago destroyed most of his wealth and then just two years later the unthinkable happened.
Losing children and wealth would have been enough to destroy most men,
but it inspired Horatio to write the timeless classic “It Is Well With My Soul.”
In researching and retelling what Horatio went through, his story reminded me of Job.
Job also had everything, and then it was taken away.
These men went through extreme suffering and loss, and yet Horatio was able to say “it is well with my soul”
and Job said, “naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
How did they obtain this peace with God and the world in times of immense trials?
Only through the Holy Spirit entering their hearts and showering them with transforming peace and strength.
And this peace is available to you and me today- to anyone who will call on God and be saved.
My favorite verse is Romans 10:9,
“if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
The message of Jesus dying on the cross is that he did it all for us;
as another old hymn Rock of Ages says, “nothing in my hands I bring, simply to your cross I cling.”
Grab hold of this promise! Cling to this truth!
Confess your sins to God and realise your forgiveness accomplished on the cross, and live, truly live!
Then you will be able to sing with Horatio and millions more.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
(and) When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
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!
(and) My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
‘It Is Well With My Soul” written by Horatio Spafford
Psalm 130 was written by a man truly in despair.
Helpless. Perhaps, like Horatio the author of the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul,”
the author of Psalm 130 had lost everything and was at the end of his rope?
Moreover, in these verses from the hymn, and also Psalm 130, we see broken people who know they have failed God.
Romans 3:23 says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.
But then comes the difference between the Psalmist’s words and Horatio’s hymn.
The Psalms were written hundreds of years before Jesus was born.
Verses 3 and 4 of Psalm 13:
If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
Before Jesus was born, believers in God paid the price for their sins by sacrificing animals, in accordance with strict rituals set by God.
In Hebrews 10:4-5 we read:
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me.”
God the Father sent God the Son, Jesus Christ, to take the place of animals on the ultimate altar of sacrifice, the cross,
and nail our sins to the cross with his hands, as we sing in “It Is Well With My Soul”
My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
-My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Jesus died for the sins of the whole world
(but that does not mean the whole world is saved, each person needs to accept forgiveness)
and Jesus’ blood shed at that point in history was for believers who lived before he was born,
for it says in Revelation 13:8 that Jesus was “the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world”.
So before God set the first man, Adam, on earth, there was a plan to save men and women who believed the truth.
To end all their suffering and bring them to live with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in heaven, for eternity.
This plan is called Salvation History.
Believers in God born before Jesus died had to wait until they got to heaven to find out the real redeeming power of their salvation,
but you can know and live in this truth today.
Just accept the forgiveness of God and believe!
Maybe it’s been a while since you have thought about your salvation, and what it cost Jesus, the Son of the Living God?
I urge you to think over the words of this great hymn and meditate on the goodness of God.
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 (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 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 His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O 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.
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.
“It Is Well With My Soul” written by Horatio Spafford
Psalm 130:1-8 KJV
[1] Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
[2] Lord, hear my voice: Let thine ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications.
[3] If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
[4] But there is forgiveness with thee, That thou mayest be feared.
[5] I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, And in his word do I hope.
[6] My soul waiteth for the Lord More than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
[7] Let Israel hope in the LORD: For with the LORD there is mercy, And with him is plenteous redemption.
[8] And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Do you long for the day when Jesus comes back to earth,
and renews heaven and earth through his victory over sin and death on the cross?
You can only have this hope if you know you are forgiven and,
as we have seen earlier, Jesus has accomplished forgiveness for you.
God the Father raised Jesus up from hell, “ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it.” Acts 2:24.
Imagine in your mind a rocket ship taking off from earth – we have seen it many times on TV.
The sheer power of the massive machine, being lifted by the phenomenal force of the rocket’s thrust and energy.
Now multiply that image by a million times,
and you still will not be close to what actually happened when God the Father went down into hell,
and defeated Satan to declare, “death has been swallowed up in victory!” 1 Corinthians 15:54.
With sin defeated (smashed and obliterated!) we can now turn to what the future holds,
which is what Horatio writes about in the last verse of his hymn “It Is Well With My Soul.”
Yes, at this present time we walk by sight.
We know our sins have been forgiven but we don’t yet see the perfection promised by God.
“When the faith shall be sight”, as Horatio writes, is unpacked in the beautiful verses of Revelation 21:4-7,
God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Death will no longer exist;
grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer,
because the previous things have passed away.
Then the One seated on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new.”
He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” And He said to me,
“It is done!
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.
_I will give water as a gift to the thirsty from the spring of life.
The victor will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.”
An old friend of mine, Geoff, once told me he had a vision of heaven while on earth, of being taken up into the heavenly realms.
Like many who have had such a special experience, he couldn’t describe what he saw and felt in human terms,
but he tried, with this song below.
My prayer is that you will know the forgiveness already accomplished for you through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross,
and be transformed into a new person. A person of peace.
Remember, it is done! So, believe, and live!
One day weʼll see Him face to face,
And then our hearts will beat as one,
That day weʼll know the glory of His grace,
As we on earth have never known.
Sometimes we are surprised by joy,
Sometimes a bliss unbidden comes,
And in that moment of enriching love
Come intimations of our home.
Our hearts are gladdened in this world,
When grace gives sudden sights of love,
But oh! how richer when our hearts in hope
Reach out to fuller bliss above.
ʼTis then the sights of heaven abound,
And flood our tired hearts of pain,
The tears of wonder flow in ecstasy,
And we are fully home again.
The years of sorrow and of strife,
The sin that brought a holy shame,
The guilt our hearts could never wholly hide
Will never visit us again.
Dear Lover, Savior, Jesus Christ,
Our present life is hid in Thee,
But oh! the wonder when we are unveiled
In glory of our liberty.
Till then we live in present hope,
In patience of the coming sight,
And those who share with You Your glory now,
We then will meet with great delight.
Delight and bliss and joy and love,
As now our hearts cannot contain,
Will flood us as we see Him face to face
And we are wholly one again.
Also Read: Walk on the Bright Path Ahead of You! – Diademng (thediademng.org)
It is Well with my Soul!
