Horatio Spafford was a successful lawyer and real estate investor living in Chicago in the 1800’s. He and his wife, Anna, were close supporters of Dwight L. Moody, the famous evangelist headquartered in Chicago. The Spaffords had 4 daughters and a son named Horatio Jr. The first tragedy to befall them was the death of their son at age 4 of Scarlet Fever (1870). A year later, in 1871, the great Chicago fire killed hundreds and left more than 90,000 homeless. Spafford had invested heavily in Chicago properties that literally went up in smoke. Still he and his wife focused on helping out others who had suffered loss in the fire.
The Spaffords decided to take a break from all that had happened so they planned a vacation to Europe. Just before leaving for New York to sail to Europe, Horatio was detained by business dealings, and decided to send Anna and the 4 girls on promising to join them as soon as possible. The French ship they were travelling on, “Ville de Havre” was struck by another ship near the middle of their journey and sunk in only 12 minutes. All four daughters died, but Anna was found alive and unconscious hanging to a broken spar that was floating adrift. Of the 307 passengers 226 drowned leaving about 90 passengers and crew to be rescued. Another survivor, Pastor Weiss, quoted Anna as saying, “God gave me 4 daughters. Now they have been taken from me. Some day I will understand why.”
When Anna reached Cardiff she wired her husband the following message dated Dec. 1, 1873: “Saved alone. What shall I do? Mrs. Goodwin, children, Willie Culver lost. Upon receiving the wire, Horatio sought passage on the next available ship to join his grieving wife and bring her home. On that voyage, the ships captain summond Horatio to inform him that according to his coordinates they were passing over the exact spot where his daughters had drowned. Heartsick, Spafford returned to his cabin and with pen in hand poured out his heart to God.
When Peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
What ever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
In ways that only the Lord can do, the Holy Spirit begin to minister peace and strength to his troubled soul. In reading these lyrics you can see his faith taking wings and the reality of the Lord’s presence even in his pain. Writing to his wife’s sister while on the ship, he wrote, “On Thursday last we passed over the spot where she went down, in mid ocean, the waters three miles deep. But I do not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, folded, the dear lambs.”
The Spaffords had three other children, two of whom, Bertha and Grace, survived. In 1881 they moved to Jerusalem and established what became known as the “American Colony,” a mission to the poor which did much outreach during World War I. Horatio Spafford died of malaria in Jerusalem on Oct. 16, 1888, just four days short of his 60th birthday. Before he died Horatio wrote “I rely exclusively, exclusively on the power and grace of God in Christ. I am a miracle of grace! Blessed God, how patient thou hast been with me!”
Though the story swirling around this beloved hymn tell of tragedy and loss, the comfort that shines from this beloved hymn reveals that God has the ability to transform tragedy into powerful comfort and blessing. We are reminded of Paul’s admonition in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (NIV)
Conclusion: Given the opportunity to make a choice, not a one of us would ever choose the crucible of suffering, tragedy, or loss, but Paul had learned from what he suffered, that it is God himself who comforts us in our troubles and passes on to us and through us the ministry of comfort thus enabling us to become comforters of others. In the midst of Horatio Spafford’s pain and loss, came the resonant song that has comforted millions of believers through the years. How a man can write, through the tears of his own loss, “It is well with my soul,” is a testimony to the powerful comfort God’s holy spirit can bring even in the middle of a hard moment in life. No one would wish for the tragedy Spafford suffered, but the testimony of his life gives a practical underpinning to the powerful words of the song he wrote “it is well, it is well with my soul.”
This sermon is about: faith, loss, sorrows, suffering, & trust
