It is Well with My Soul - The Christmas song you didn't know you needed
Week 2 - Songs of Advent
It is well, (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul
These words have rung through the hearts of believers for more than 150 years. They are the deep cry from the heart to God.
It is a song about peace.
Peace in a world with unexplainable tragedy. Peace in a world where darkness often looks like it will win.
Peace in the hearts of women and men who experience unspeakable challenges. Peace because the God who made us and loves us gives a peace that surpasses all understanding.
Perhaps you know the story of this song. It was written by a man named Horatio Spafford in 1873. The lyrics came to him when he was at sea.
Why was he in a boat on his way to England?
Just days before, Horatio was in Chicago, preparing to travel to Europe to help the evangelist D.L. Moody with his revival services. His wife and four daughters traveled ahead of him, sailing across the Atlantic.
He stayed behind for a few days to deal with a zoning issue with their house. Like so many in the city, Horatio and his family lost their home in the great fire of Chicago a few years before. They lost everything and were rebuilding their lives.
In the midst of this busy week, planning to join his sweet family and dealing with the hassles of bureaucracy, he received a telegram that forever changed his life. It was a short note. Six words from his wife Anna: “Saved alone. What shall I do?”
The tragedy of losing his home to a fire was suddenly a small thing. Because with those six words, sent across the ocean by wire, Horatio learned that he’d lost his most precious gift: his four beautiful daughters drowned. The boat they were on was shipwrecked. Only his wife survived.
There are no words to describe the grief, the pain, the sorrow like sea billows that rolled against that man as he came to terms with his loss.
And famously, as he sailed to England to meet his wife and mourn with her, the ship's captain stopped the boat at the spot where the tragedy occurred so that Horatio could mourn and remember his daughters. And that’s when the words to this song dropped into his soul.
Words became flesh.
Peace came into life’s storm.
Jesus entered his experience and brought comfort and hope.
As we prepare for the joy of Christmas, so many of us are also reminded of deep pain and grief. Friends and family who are no longer here. Unresolved hurts or sorrows that billow or roll against us.
When we light the candle of peace, we remember that Jesus came to bring peace into our world and into our lives.
Only Jesus can teach our troubled hearts to say, no matter what we face, that “It is well, it is well with my soul.”
Let the peace of God fill your heart this Advent season.
Response:
Take a moment to listen to the song below or to read the lyrics out loud and meditate on the words.
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
It is well
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 has regarded my helpless estate
And hath shed His own blood for my soul
It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, 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 the cross, and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul!
It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
About Songs of Advent
The music we sing at Christmas helps us to remember the story of Jesus and fills our hearts with hope, peace, love and joy. This series of readings–one for each week of the four Sundays of Advent, as well as a fifth reading for Christmas Day–looks at the inspiring stories behind some of our most beloved songs, including O Holy Night, Joy to the World, and Silent Night.
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I needed this insight today as we just found out our beloved border collie has cancer and likely only has a short time left with us. Thank you. My heart is broken but my soul is well.