Peace Like a River

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.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

- Horatio Spafford

Anna Spafford, Horatio's wife, was involved in a terrible accident upon the high seas in which all four of her daughters perished. Upon reaching safety, Anna sent a hauntingly disturbing telegram to her husband containing only the words "Saved alone." Anyone who has children knows quite well that these words are enough to fill the heart with grief, flood the soul with profound, unending depression, and leave the poor, loving father utterly undone. Yet, Horatio Spafford did not think like men of this world. His thoughts, desires, and aspirations lingered not on temporal, ever-elusive earthly happiness. He lived in this world with the thought and love of eternity firmly implanted and cultivated in his enlivened, thoroughly Christian spirit. He understood that to live is Christ and to die is gain. In his acute perception, he saw past the meaninglessness of worldly gain, the vanity of the lust of the eyes, and the inanity of the pride of life. He knew this world to be what it truly is, a vale of tears containing only an illusion of permanence, a vale of tears leading to one inevitable end--death. But, even that, even the inevitable end of all men, even the grave whose gluttonous mouth is never full, never satisfied, caused him no fear or trepidation, for he had learned from His Lord that it is the welfare of the soul which holds the key to the meaning of life and its ultimate fulfillment. He had learned that true satisfaction is not found in earthly gain, material wealth, or any peace which this world seems to offer. He had learned that nothing on this earth can separate him from the love of God in Christ, and it was that love which burst forth from his breast as a river of life, causing him to pen the beautiful words quoted above, words which bring unspeakable comfort to the Christian heart. You see, the only longing desire of man that can be satisfied is the desire of the soul, the desire of faith. This desire will be truly satiated, filled to the brim when it shall culminate in the beatific vision of the blessed Lord, when faith shall at last be sight. As the Lord has said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Indeed, blessed are they who abide in this vale of tears with a heavenly mind focused on things everlasting.

Honor, Liberty, Truth!