“Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus» (Philippians 4:7).
Horatio Spafford married Anna Larson in Chicago in 1861. There he became a rich partner in a law firm and a successful businessman, especially in the real estate market. He served as an elder in the Presbyterian Church and lived happily with his wife and four daughters. At that time in their lives, he could say everything was going well. But it would soon change.
On October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire left countless buildings in ashes, including Spafford’s properties. That brought about a great economic crisis because of millions of dollars in losses.
Two years later, with the intention of participating in revival meetings in England, Spafford organized a trip with his family. But just before they left, some problems came up and he decided to stay in Chicago to solve them.
He sent his wife and daughters (aged eleven, nine, five and two) on the voyage they had planned, and he would sail to meet them there a few days later. They joined another three hundred passengers on board the French ship Ville du Havre and set sail. They had been sailing for a week when one morning at dawn the ship collided with another one and broke in half.
Anna hurried her daughters to quickly go on deck, but everything was chaotic there and news spread that they would soon all sink She knelt down and began crying out to God to save them or give them a peaceful death.
In only twelve minutes, the ship sank into the frigid waters of the Atlantic and over 220 people died.
Later, a rescue boat found Anna alive. Her four daughters had perished, but she was taken to dry land along with other survivors, and there wrote to her husband, “Only survivor, but I am well. It is well with my soul. Praise the Lord!”
Next week We will see how the story of this hymn continues. But meanwhile, we can think about Anna’s attitude and see if we have that same disposition when facing life’s problems; if we believe God’s peace is enough for us to overcome the greatest losses. May it be so.
May we be the ones praising God in the midst of the most severe trials.
