Day 79 "Where Can One Find Real Peace?"

Below you will find an article written by PH. D. which posted in Lifestyle on Oct. 16, 2014.

It recounts the inspiration for the song, "It IS Well With My Soul."

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Horatio G. Spafford was a successful lawyer and businessman in Chicago with a lovely family - a wife, Anna, and five children. However, they were not strangers to tears and tragedy. Their young son died with pneumonia in 1871, and in that same year, much of their business was lost in the great Chicago fire. Yet, God in His mercy and kindness allowed the business to flourish once more.

On Nov. 21, 1873, the French ocean liner, Ville du Havre was crossing the Atlantic from the U.S. to Europe with 313 passengers on board. Among the passengers were Mrs. Spafford and their four daughters. Although Mr. Spafford had planned to go with his family, he found it necessary to stay in Chicago to help solve an unexpected business problem. He told his wife he would join her and their children in Europe a few days later. His plan was to take another ship.

About four days into the crossing of the Atlantic, the Ville du Harve collided with a powerful, iron-hulled Scottish ship, the Loch Earn. Suddenly, all of those on board were in grave danger. Anna hurriedly brought her four children to the deck. She knelt there with Annie, Margaret Lee, Bessie and Tanetta and prayed that God would spare them if that could be His will, or to make them willing to endure whatever awaited them. Within approximately 12 minutes, the Ville du Harve slipped beneath the dark waters of the Atlantic, carrying with it 226 of the passengers including the four Spafford children.

A sailor, rowing a small boat over the spot where the ship went down, spotted a woman floating on a piece of the wreckage. It was Anna, still alive. He pulled her into the boat and they were picked up by another large vessel which, nine days later, landed them in Cardiff, Wales. From there she wired her husband a message which began, “Saved alone, what shall I do?” Mr. Spafford later framed the telegram and placed it in his office.

Another of the ship’s survivors, Pastor Weiss, later recalled Anna saying, “God gave me four daughters. Now they have been taken from me. Someday I will understand why.”

Mr. Spafford booked passage on the next available ship and left to join his grieving wife. With the ship about four days out, the captain called Spafford to his cabin and told him they were over the place where his children went down. According to Bertha Spafford Vester, a daughter born after the tragedy, Spafford wrote “It Is Well With My Soul” while on this journey.

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.

Chorus:

It is well with my soul,

It is well, it is well with my soul

Anna gave birth to three more children, one of which died at age four with dreaded pneumonia. In August 1881, the Spaffords moved to Jerusalem. Mr. Spafford died and is buried in that city.

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To have experienced this tragedy personally would have been horrendous for almost of of us, but for Horatio Spafford, he found the strength and inspiration to endure and press onward. To have such faith and to believe that God is in ultimate control of our lives can only take root in one's understanding of God's love for us to the point where trust surrounds us with sweet peace. Though the storms may come and what may seem like rolling waves coming in one after another, one can still find that sweet peace inside regardless of one's circumstances. Jesus is the author and perfecter of that peace.

"And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, shall keep your hearts, your minds through Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:7.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." Philippians 3:12

"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Jesus Christ." Philippians 3:13-14

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content in whatever the circumstances." Philippians 4:11

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To discover the peace in Christ is to experience the liberation of one's soul

from fear and conflict. The plethera of worries and concerns that tether us to this temporary world begin to dissipate one after another as one is drawn into the light of God's eternal perspective and his love. The aroma and stillness of sweet peace descends and the work shoring up our broken and battered lives begins. Oh, what joy, to come to the understanding of what Jesus meant when he said, "It is finished."

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

Be blessed today knowing that your are already blessed. In his love, I'll see you tomorrow...

"Carpe Momentum in Love" (Seize the moment in Love)