October 8, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, October 8.
Today's devotion is about a great fire, that led to a great hymn. On October 8, 1871, the city of Chicago was engulfed in flames. It took three days to extinguish the fire. When it was over, 300 people had died, 15,000 were homeless, and a third of the city was reduced to ashes. One of the homeless was the legendary evangelist Dwight L. Moody. His church was destroyed, as well. One of his closest friends was a local lawyer and church leader named Horatio Spafford, a man who lost his fortune in the fire, and toiled tirelessly over the next two years to rebuild his beloved city.
Spafford's efforts left him with severe exhaustion. His doctor told him that if he did not stop and rest, his name would be added to the list of those who had lost their lives because of the fire. And so, he planned a vacation in England with his wife, Anna, and their four daughters, ages 18 months to 12 years. But, when the day came for them to leave Chicago by train, urgent business forced Spafford to send his family on without him, with the promise that he would join them soon.
Anna Spafford and the four girls boarded a ship in New York and set sail for England. But the final destination of that ship would be the bottom of the ocean. A few days later, Horatio Spafford received a telegram from his wife, with a chilling two-word message, "Saved alone". He boarded another ship and asked to be notified when it reached the spot where his family's ship had gone down. Late one night he heard a knock at his stateroom door. The ship's captain solemnly said, "Sir, we are there ".
Spafford went up on deck and for a long time he gazed out at the billowing waves of the sea. Finally returning to his room, sleep would not come, and he began to write down his thoughts in the form of a poem. That poem was set to music, and for the last 150 years, "It is Well With My Soul" has been a testimony of God's love and care, even in times of trial. This hymn of comfort and hope was inspired by unimaginable tragedy and loss, and reminds us of Paul's words in Romans 8:28 - "God works all things for good to those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose".
There's more to the Spafford's amazing story - coming on Wednesday!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
