“It is Well…”

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 4:26

In 2 Kings 4, the prophet Elisha is praying for a widower, a “Shunamite” woman.  There is a famine in the land and he goes to her house. She “bakes her last cake,” and gives it to the man of God. He prays for God to give her a son, and she has a son. But one day, her son fell sick and died. She sends her servant to get the prophet Elisha and to say nothing but “It is well.” You know the “rest of the story.” The man of God prayed for her son and he lived.

Horatio Spafford was born in 1828. He was a successful attorney and real estate investor, serving the Lord with all his heart. He had a wife, a son, and four beautiful daughters. Spafford was at the height of his success, until he lost everything in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

After this, his favorite four-year-son died of scarlet fever. Because of this great heartache, he thought a “family vacation would be good for everyone.” He was supposed to go with them, but as he was on board, he received a phone call, which meant that he could not go with them. He sent his wife and children ahead to England, but while on board, a storm hit and their ship collided with another, and his four daughters were drowned at sea…only his wife survived.

He immediately set sail for England…but when they were passing over the ocean, the Captain showed Horacio the very spot where his children died.  After this, he had another son, Horatio Goertner, who at the age of four, also died of scarlet fever.

His tragedies and his faithfulness to God in those times still stand because his famous hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul,” lives on.  We must remember that “hard times will come.” Disappointments and even tragedies may enter our lives, and then the test will be… Can we say, “It is Well, With My Soul”? Yes, we can… Sherry