It Is Well

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. 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 4:6-7

I wonder how many of us are experiencing peace in our lives. I’m not just talking about a time out from conflict, but true peace. Peace that defies understanding. Peace that lasts even when conflict is present. Peace that holds together when your world falls apart. Perhaps some of us were not aware that this level of peace was even possible. This is God’s peace: peace that exceeds anything we can understand. 

Chicago business executive, Horatio Gates Spafford, lost all four of his daughters in a tragic shipwreck. He had already experienced the loss of his only son. And the Great Chicago Fire destroyed nearly every real estate investment Horatio owned. It seemed his life was laced with sorrow and loss. 

In 1873, Horatio was on his way to meet his grief-stricken wife. During his passage over the same sea that had just claimed the lives of his remaining children, Horatio penned a song that many of you still sing today. The song, entitled It is Well With My Soul, says this:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows, like a sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

Horatio Gates Spafford understood the peace of God, which exceeds anything we can understand. The human heart and mind do not have the capacity for peace amid such loss, but the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.