It Is Well

My time of devotion this morning was about Elisha entreating God on behalf of a couple that wanted to have a child. God blessed them with a son, but he eventually became ill and died. When the mother went to go to the man of God to tell him of the child's death, notice how she handled herself during this time of grief.

"So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well." ~ 2 Kings 4:25, 26

Can you imagine? Her son has died and instead of breaking down and telling him what happened, she replies with 'It is well.' I'm sure the tears were there, but there's also a peace there. A peace that God is in control. God knows the situation He has allowed into her life. How many times do we respond to situations with this same peace? When our world seems to be falling apart around us do we frantically try to pick up the pieces and make sense of it all or do we trust in the Lord and say 'It is well. The Lord has allowed this in my life and He is going to help me through it.'

I'm reminded of the hymn 'It Is Well With My Soul'. Not only are the words to this great hymn powerful, but the story behind it as well.

   "When the great Chicago fire consumed the Windy City in 1871, Horatio G. Spafford, an attorney heavily invested in real estate, lost a fortune. About that time, his only son, age 4, succumbed to scarlet fever. Horatio drowned his grief in work, pouring himself into rebuilding the city and assisting the 100,000 who had been left homeless.

   In November of 1873, he decided to take his wife and daughters to Europe. Horatio was close to D. L. Moody and Ira Sankey, and he wanted to visit their evangelistic meetings in England, then enjoy a vacation.

   When an urgent matter detained Horatio in New York, he decided to send his wife, Anna, and their four daughters, Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie, on ahead. As he saw them settled into a cabin aboard the luxurious French liner Ville du Havre, an unease filled his mind, and he moved them to a room closer to the bow of the ship. Then he said good-bye, promising to join them soon.

   During the small hours of November 22, 1873, as the Ville du Havre glided over smooth seas, the passengers were jolted from their bunks. The ship had collided with an iron sailing vessel, and water poured in like Niagra. The Ville du Havre tilted dangerously. Screams, prayers, and oaths merged into nightmare of unmeasured terror. Passengers clung to posts, tumbled through darkness, and were swept away by powerful currents of icy ocean. Loved ones fell from each other's grasp and disappeared into foaming blackness. Within two hours, the mighty ship vanished beneath the waters. The 226 fatalities included Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie. Mrs. Spafford was found nearly unconscious, clinging to a piece of the wreckage. When the 47 survivors landed in Cardiff, Wales, she cabled her husband: "Saved Alone."

   Horatio immediately booked passage to join his wife. En route, on a cold December night, the captain called him aside and said, "I believe we are now passing over the place where the Ville du Havre went down." Spafford went to his cabin but found it hard to sleep. He said to himself, "It is well; the will of God be done."

   He later wrote his famous hymn based on those words." ~ taken from Then Sings My Soul by: Robert J. Morgan

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."

My sin, O the bliss of this glorious tho't

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!

O, Lord haste the day when my 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 we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." ~ Romans 8:28