It doesn’t matter who you are for the rain falls on the unrighteous as well as the righteous. This world is perishing and Jesus will soon come to gather his people unto him. The difficulties we face as we await his glorious return are achieving an eternal purpose as daily we are being transformed into the image of Christ.
We know that we will suffer and endure hardship while on this earth, yet each painful trial brings with it an opportunity to trust God for what he has promised. That is not always easy but it is something that Christ empowers us to do as we grow in our understanding and belief. It takes a willing vessel, emptied of self, to maintain hope in the face of disaster and say, “I know my Redeemer lives!”{Job 19:25}
The testing of our faith is the tool that God uses to strengthen us for the battle. Each time we pass through the valley of our difficulties, defying the enemy as we stand unwavering in trust, we are giving an awesome testament to the power of God. The gates of hell are shaken every time a believer can praise God in the midst of heartbreaking pain and loss. Such was the faith of Horatio Spafford, an attorney in Chicago in the eighteenth century.
In November of 1873, Horatio decided to send his wife and four daughters ahead of him to Europe where he would later join them. He settled them in a cabin aboard the French liner, the Ville Du Havre, and then kissed them and said good-bye.
The grand ship glided upon the water for a while but then it tragically collided with another vessel. As water began filling the ship, passengers were being swept away into the torrents of an icy ocean. Loved ones were torn from each other as they sunk beneath the darkness of the water. The fatalities included the four daughters of Horatio. Mrs.Spafford was later found unconscious and clinging to a piece of the ship’s wreckage. After she was rescued and taken to dry ground, she cabled her husband with the sad news, “Saved Alone”. In a very short time, all of Horatio’s children were taken from him in death! A few years earlier, his only son had succumbed to scarlet fever at the age four. How could he still trust God in the face of such grief and loss? How could anyone?
But God has the power to transcend our understanding and to fill us with his peace even in hopeless tragedies. Horatio quickly booked passage on a ship to be with his wife. While onboard during a bitter cold December night, the captain called to Horatio while pointing out the spot where the Ville du Havre sunk. As he peered into the watery grave where his daughters perished, Horatio was filled with immense grief. With tears, he went back to his cabin and said to himself these faith filled words, “It is well; the will of God be done.” Such incredible trust! He later wrote the famous hymn entitled, It is well with my soul.
My friends, you need to know that Horatio did not have an extraordinary life, but he had an extraordinary faith! He lived his life in such a way that acknowledged his belief that God was in complete control of all that happens. He trusted even through this tragedy that the perfect will of God could not be stopped. He surrendered the pain of his breaking heart as a sacrifice to give honor and glory to God. He absolutely refused to believe that God had failed him.
Is there a struggle in your life that is making it difficult to stand in your faith? Trust is a process that the Holy Spirit takes you through one step at a time. He always knows your weakness and he knows the path to bring you to peace. If you can surrender your pain to God for his glory, he will fill you with joy and peace as he works all things out for your good.
God will never fail you and the tragedies of life can never destroy you. Because of Jesus Christ, all can be well with your soul!
26 comments
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January 18, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Caribbean Shulamite
This is full of deep and beautiful truths that can really be relied upon. Interestingly, at church today, our Pastor spoke on much the same things. Blessings to you in Jesus.
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January 18, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Marianne Lordi
Thanks for your comment,CS. I know this truth of trusting God despite our circumstance is the most difficult to to do. Anyone can praise God in the good times. It takes a real believer to give glory to God when your world is crumbling.
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January 19, 2009 at 6:15 am
PearlsOfTruth
Beautiful post. I aspire to have the faith of Horatio! I often feel like I have been stripped of everything in my life, but I still have my children…
I haven’t heard of him before, so thank you for sharing 🙂
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January 19, 2009 at 9:13 am
reformedpilgrim
A lovely post Marianne that offers encouragement to those who are struggling with the sovereignty of God. We all do struggle with this if we are honest because we actually have no idea why God permits such things to happen. What matters is that we know we can trust in His unfailing promises to help us cross the river into the promised land when all has been said and done, and we must remember that there the fruit is sweet and the Landlord welcoming!!
God Bless
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January 19, 2009 at 10:11 am
Marianne Lordi
So nice to meet you Pearls! Glad that you were inspired by the story. It was a story that changed my life and my outlook on just about everything. If Horatio could have that faith, can God not help me to have it also?
When you feel down and stripped of everything, remember that you have the one thing that counts…….Christ Jesus!
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January 19, 2009 at 10:14 am
Marianne Lordi
reformedpilgrim, Thanks for the comments. I so appreciate you site and the great messages that you always have. And yes, we CAN trust in God’s unfailing promises. It never matters if it SEEMS hopeless and that we are defeated, the only thing that matters is that we aren’t because Christ paid the price to give us hope and the victory in all things!
Thanks for stopping by.
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January 21, 2009 at 3:54 pm
God's girl
I love your post! It is just what I need to hear as we struggle with whether my husband will keep his job or not. God is teaching me to trust Him and has brought me so far from where I was a couple of years ago. But I still continue to struggle and have moments of doubt. It is such a blessing and comfort to hear you declare your confidence that God IS trustworthy, and He WILL take care of us! Hearing your confidence gives me strength and courage to keep believing God’s promises, both in your post here and in your comment on my site. Thank you for your faith! May God keep filling you with His words. Bless you, Marianne! jenny
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January 21, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Marianne Lordi
Hi Jenny, I am so glad you stopped by. I believe that God is working something powerful in you and the writing that you do for him. If you are going to be used in a mighty way, he is going to test you with the wind and the waves to see if you will still trust him. I read your articles and I can tell that you have a deep, underlying faith that will withstand what the enemy tries to steal. If your husband loses his job, God is preparing you both for something better. Everyone who has stood in faith during the storms of life have always emerged stronger, wiser and closer to the face of God. You will get through this time because you have the understanding to know that you are never alone!
God bless. I will pray for you! 🙂
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January 25, 2009 at 1:18 am
Denny
Hmmm…
http://777denny.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/grapejuice-evangelicalism-versus-jesus-christ-the-gift-of-eternal-life/
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January 25, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Jeremy Strang
Marianne, You are a wonderful sister in Christ. I enjoy your blogs, sorry have not been on in awhile, busy with work. If you would, please keep us in prayer as the Lord maybe taking us to New Mexico! Talk to you soon. God bless, Jeremy
http://www.urgencytorise.com
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January 25, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Marianne Lordi
I am praying for you Jeremy!
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January 26, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Rachel
Marianne,
What a wonderful post. Last year was a tough one with a lot of uncertainity for me and my husband . . . and it was a true test of who our faith was in! What surprised me was the reserve I felt. All along I knew we were in His hands and He was simply refining us which He did. The peace from having soul ownership of truth was undeniable . . . I am getting a sense of what Paul meant when he said he had learn to be content in whatever circumstance. Most of my life it hasn’t been well with my soul . . . it is such a celebration to expereince that change and how it is all Him and not me that made the difference.
Rachel
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January 26, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Marianne Lordi
Thanks Rachel. We are all faced with uncertainty in our lives. Just as Peter had to face the waves and the wind as he walked on the water, we too must trust despite our circumstances. As we grow in Christ, we defeat our flesh and let the power of the risen Lord be our strength and help us not to doubt. It is a process. I still have a way to go. I am just grateful that God never gives up on me. 🙂
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February 13, 2009 at 7:37 pm
concernedx2
Thank you Marianne for this site and the posts you have written here. I am very well acquainted with the story behind the glorious hymn, ‘IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.’ Once again, the story has touched my heart. It was your visit to my site that led me to these valuable posts; for this I am most grateful. The Spirit bare witness that you have an important ministry in this that you are doing; I think you are well aware of this. God bless and keep you, Bill
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February 13, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Marianne Lordi
Thanks for your kind words, Bill. I know that you also are doing a mighty work on your site. Keep it up. We need to get the truth out there!
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February 19, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Kate
Here’s your first question from me Marianne: Can you explain what sovereignty is? I have no idea what that means and I cant find it on the internet. 🙂
GOD BLESS,
Kate ❤
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February 19, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Marianne Lordi
Good question, Kate. Sovreignty refers to God’s supreme authority over everything! The wind, the waves, the stars,…..all things must submit to God’s authority. He is sovereign over us also, however, he allows things to happen in our lives as a result of the free will that he has given us. If you don’t believe that God is over everything, meaning he could stop wars, he could stop children from getting cancer, he could stop innocent people from suffering, then you can’t believe he is sovreign over anything.
If that were not true, why would you pray to him for things or ask for healing if he were not able to do it.
God has the power to do all things. While we don’t understand fully why he lets good people suffer and why he allows evil to continue, we know that he has a plan. In the end, every knee shall bow to him as he returns. The truth of all will be known then, but to some, it will be too late.
The thing you have to remember, kate, is that no matter what difficulty you have in your life, God has the power to take you through it. You will read in the book of Daniel that God allowed the three Jewish boys to be thrown into the furnace, however, he met them there and none of them were harmed or even smelled like smoke. He could have stopped them from being put in the furnace, instead, for his glory, he allowed them to trust him as he took them safely through the furnace. God’s ways are always higher than ours. 😉
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March 8, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Denise
Such wise words, bless you.
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March 8, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Marianne Lordi
Thank you Denise. I write as God gives me voice. It always is a message for me first.
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March 10, 2009 at 11:00 am
Kate
Wow. Thanks. I agree with Denise, such wise words Marianne!!!
Thank you for your help!
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March 10, 2009 at 11:29 am
Marianne Lordi
Thanks Kate. In case you want to talk, email me at my address:
commish07@zoominternet.net
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March 11, 2009 at 11:33 am
Kate
Yes I would love to talk to you about a couple differant things! (i just have to remember them). I forget a lot!!!
Here’s mine: pray4thepersecuted139@yahoo.com
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April 6, 2009 at 11:09 am
IfeOlorun
It is well with our souls. Jer 29: 11 says God’s plan for us are to give us a future and a hope. It doesn’t matter how we get to that future, It might be through trials and tribulations but we will surely get there.
He says He will be with us when we pass through fire, and we will not be consumed by its flame. He will never leave us nor forsake us. It is well.
It is well with my soul!
Marianne, this is deep. Keep up the good work.
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April 6, 2009 at 11:28 am
Marianne Lordi
Thank you IfeOlorun! You made me read this message again and it was something that I need to believe in my life right now! This is deep and the enemy does not want us to understand the truth of these words. God does not leave us in our troubles and no pain or struggle can defeat us.
That is truth! The enemy knows this and tries to make us take our eyes off the Source of all of our power and strength, Jesus Christ!
I appreciate your kind words. Bless you too and the awesome writing that you do on your site. I am over all the time. Take care.
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November 27, 2009 at 8:35 am
Joe
In his book “Practical Religion”, J.C. Ryle asks his readers several times at the outset – “How do we do about our souls?” Horatio was a great example for us here in an answer to that question as you’ve illustrated Marianne. He put his complete trust in God in the midst of his trials – not a partial, half-baked trust, but a full one.
We could all use a little time in “self-inquiry” as Ryle puts it and honestly answer the question he raised. It was evident that Horatio had done that many times and could stand strong when trials hit.
Thanks for sharing this story Marianne. This is one of my favorite hymns and I’m encouraged by the story behind it. Thank you for always proclaiming truth and providing such timely messages. Blessings to you !
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November 27, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Marianne Lordi
Hi Joe, thanks for stopping by and adding some great thoughts to this message! I was thinking about what you said on “self-inquiry” and wondering if my faith would stand the test in such tragedy. I guess for now I can only pray that it does.
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