Hymn & Commentary: Devotional Hymns of Grace and Comfort When Life Is Hard

This evening I have a hymn presentation that is of a more personal note.

Recently my husband's mother passed away. It was quite sudden and unexpected, and it followed the death of her husband and his sister -- all in the course of about two years.

When a loved one goes home to be with the Lord, we rejoice and are happy for them. At the same time, the loss of personal contact will make a difference in our lives. As it should be, emotions will run higher, which in turn can make us more vulnerable to outside influences. It is important to acknowledge whatever emotion comes along, confront them and deal with them. The length of time this takes will be different for each individual.

Here is where a cautionary note must be offered, because emotions from outside influences can begin to govern our lives, which in turn can lead to ups and downs, thinking that isn't clear, and depression. Trusting and being guided by this type of emotion can quickly become a very slippery slope.

There must be something else that we can fall back upon when our guard is lowered by life-changing circumstances, and that "something" is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus will be our joy amidst sorrow and pain. That is our promise. Jesus is where we should focus every moment of our lives, by keeping our eyes on the promise of the empty cross. Jesus has given us our role in life, our call for His purpose, and the call is that for which we much live every moment of our lives.

It is important to both acknowledge our feelings and keep our eyes focused on heavenly things. This is what will see us through. Jesus said that He is the light of the world. When times are tough, make Jesus Christ your light at the end of the dark tunnel. That light is filled with love -- millions and billions of love particles, all for you.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
(Hebrews 12:2)

Helen Lemmel's life bridged two centuries. She was born in 1864, and left for heaven in 1961, living over 90 years for her Lord and Savior. Musician and author, she wrote the music and lyrics for the enduring hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. She was born in England, the daughter of a Methodist pastor. The family came to the United States when Helen was twelve years old. Much of the rest of her life was spent in the Midwest.

She was inspired to write this hymn by a missionary tract titled FOCUS by Lilias Trotter: "So then, turn your eyes upon Him, look full into His face and you will find that the things of earth will acquire a strange new dimness. "

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Refrain

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conquerors we are!

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

It Is Well With My Soul

This next story, very much reading like the Old Testament book of Job, is so unbelievable, that anyone not a Christian would deem it impossible -- however true it is.

Horatio Spafford lived with his wife, Anna, and their four daughters quite successfully in the windy city of Chicago, Illinois. As a profession he was a lawyer and businessman. In the church that he helped build, Fullerton Presbyterian Church, he was very respected. However, the darling life was not to continue.

The first circumstance to strike was the Great Chicago Fire. The Spafford family survived with no loss of life. Financially, however, it brought them to ruin because Horatio had invested heavily in land speculation. Though all six were due to board ship for Europe, at the last minute it was decided that Horatio would travel later as there was the possibility of a land sale. Thus, Anna and the girls left without husband and father with them on the voyage.

Many who are interested in hymnody know what follows. In a freak accident, the French ship on which the Spaffords were making their journey, the Ville du Havre (City of the Harbor), was split apart in the dark of night when hit by another vessel from England. Desperately trying to save themselves, the terrible discovery was made. Very few of the life boats could be used. Recently painted, they were rooted to the spots where placed before voyage. Anna survived, but her four little girls of whom the oldest was eleven years, were torn from her arms by the sea.

Now it was left to Horatio to join only his wife. Knowing of his circumstances, the ship's captain notified the bereft father when they passed over the spot where three-fourths of the people on board the Ville du Havre lost their lives.

As happens when God comforts those he loves, Horatio went to his cabin and wrote the words of the much beloved hymn of comfort and strength, It Is Well with My Soul. It was later set to music by one of the musicians who worked with evangelist Dwight L. Moody, Philip Bliss, who named the tune, Ville du Havre.

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.

Refrain
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

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!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of 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.

Tragedy led to tragedy for the Spafford family. Upon Horatio and Anna's return to their home in the Lake View area of Chicago, they were blessed with another child, this time a boy. Little Horatio was followed by a sister, Bertha. Disease and death of young children in the late 1800s was extremely high, and when Horatio as a toddler contracted Scarlet Fever it led to his death.

People began to question what this couple who had braved such losses had done to bring the wrath of God down upon them. Horatio, with his reasoning attempting to understand all that had happened, began to have theological perspectives outside the mainstream of Christian thought. It led to the family, already having gone through so much, to be asked to leave the church they helped build.

It was time for a fresh start. We don't know what it was that led the couple to move to Jerusalem, but that is exactly what they did. Upon hearing of their plans, several others chose to join them. Others, hearing of their intent, subjected the band to ridicule, giving them the name Overcomers. In 1881, eighteen seeking souls, including the Spaffords new daughter, Grace, left to take up residence in the Holy Land, calling themselves the American Colony.

The colony joined themselves together and lived as a community, sharing what each had. Over the course of years, they responded to the needs presented to them with true Christian charity. With Horatio's death in 1888, Anna continued with their work, and following her death Bertha did also. When Anna visited Chicago, she returned with more who wish to live as she did. Their home, known as a place of peace, over the years has been a place of major diplomatic meetings. The group served the displaced and injured during WWI and at other times, and a children's center also emerged to fill a need.

Today the Spafford Children's Center still exists, serving over 30,000 children in Jerusalem in 2008.

Here is real proof of the faithfulness of God to see us through all circumstances. God loves you as though you are His one and only child. Trust Him -- focus on Him -- lean on Him. Then you will also be able to claim what so many others never will, that it is well with your soul. That in itself will make you a walking miracle.

References
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/
http://www.spafford-kids.org/
Horatio and Anna Spafford and Jerusalem's American Colony
http://www.conservapedia.com/Horatio_Spafford
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Is_Well_With_My_Soul

This article was written by Mary Katherine May, owner of Quality Music and Books, online and retail Christian music and bookstore, specializing in classics and educational material, including homeschool books.

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