My thoughts were fixed on the cross of Christ this morning – mainly on how my sin, being nailed to His cross, was completely washed away. That thought led to the third verse of “It Is Well” resounding over and over again in my mind.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Knowing that hymns of the faith usually have a story behind them, I searched out this particular song’s story. As I read it, I recognized the story – it was one I’ve heard before – and it convicted my heart again as it had in the past. I’d like to share it with you…

This hymn was written by a Chicago lawyer, Horatio G. Spafford. You might think to write a worship song titled, ‘It is well with my soul’, you would indeed have to be a rich, successful Chicago lawyer. But the words, “When sorrows like sea billows roll … It is well with my soul”, were not written during the happiest period of Spafford’s life. On the contrary, they came from a man who had suffered almost unimaginable personal tragedy.

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