Peace in the Storm

Horatio G. Spafford (1828–1888) was a prosperous lawyer in Chicago who invested heavily in real estate. When the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed much of the city, Spafford lost many properties.

In 1873, Horatio Spafford, his wife, Anna, and their four daughters planned to sail to Europe for vacation. Due to a business emergency, Spafford had to postpone his own travel, but he sent his family ahead aboard the French steamship Ville du Havre. “At about 2 o’clock am on 22 November 1873, in the eastern North Atlantic, the Ville du Havre collided with the British iron clipper Loch Earn. The Ville du Havre sank in a mere 12 minutes,”1 and of the 316 passengers and crew, only 90 survived, including Anna, but not her daughters. On December 1, 1873, the survivors finally reached Cardiff, Wales.

There Anna Spafford cabled her husband saying, “‘Saved alone. What shall I do.’ Horatio Spafford took the next available ship to join his wife.” During the voyage, “the captain of the ship... called him to the bridge. ‘A careful reckoning has been made,’ he said, ‘and I believe we are now passing the place where the Ville du Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep.’” In that tragic context, Horatio Spafford wrote the lyrics of the great hymn “It Is Well With My Soul,” When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll— Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, “It is well, it is well with my soul.” Some sources say that Horatio Spafford wrote this hymn the very same day he passed close to the place where his four daughters drowned; others suggest that it was sometime later.

Whatever the case, the fact of the matter is that this wonderful hymn reflects the peace that God gave him in that most dreadful moment of his life.

Remember, that same peace can sustain you during the stormy days of your own life.