He was a lawyer who lived in Chicago. Life had been very good to him and his family. That is, life had been very nice until...
The first tragedy happened when his only son died. The Lord had given him and his wife four girls and one boy. He loved all his family, but the death of his son was very sad.
The next big blow came when the great Chicago fire in 1871 destroyed a lot of his family's real estate. They lost a lot of money because of the fire.
Mr. Spafford decided that it would be good if his family could take a vacation. He made plans for the family to sail to Europe in November 1873. At the last minute, Mr. Spafford could not go because of business. He sent his wife and four daughters, Annie, Bessie, Maggie and Tanetta, on ahead with a promise that he would come as soon as possible.
Then the message came. It didn't come by a mailman but by telegraph wires. It was a very sad message. The ship which Mr. Spafford's family was on had been struck by another ship and had gone down in 12 minutes. There were 226 people who had drowned. The message he received had both bad news and good news. The good news was that the message came from his wife and she was alive. The bad news was that they had lost all four of his daughters. In one moment of time, all four girls were gone.
He took the next boat he could to join his wife who was now in Wales. As the ship was crossing the Atlantic, it came to the place where the other ship had gone down taking his daughters to their watery grave. As he looked at the huge Ocean and the spot where they had drowned, he wrote:
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.
The message he had received had both bad news and good. God had sent a message years before to Mr. Spafford. The message had bad news and good news as well. The bad news was that Mr. Spafford was a sinner in need of salvation. The good news was that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15). Mr. Spafford had believed the message and trusted Christ.
God sends the same message today to you. God wants you to face your sin and the punishment you deserve. He also wants you to accept His Son as you Savior. If you are never saved, the Bible asks the question, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation" (Hebrews 2:3). Be honest, is it well with your soul today?