Horatio Spafford (1828–1888) was a wealthy Chicago lawyer with a thriving legal practice, a beautiful home, a wife, four daughters and a son. He was also a Christian and faithful student of the Scriptures.

At the very height of his financial and professional success, Horatio and his wife Anna suffered the tragic loss of their young son. Shortly afterwards, on October 8, 1871, the great Chicago fire destroyed almost every real estate investment that Spafford had. If you’ve read the book of Job lately, you might think this all sounds a bit familiar.

In 1873, Spafford scheduled a boat trip to Europe in order to give his wife, Anna, and their daughters a much needed holiday to recover from the tragedy. He sent his wife and daughters ahead of him, while he remained in Chicago to take care of business. Several days later, he received notice that the ship had encountered a collision. In another parallel with Job’s life, all four of his daughters drowned; only his wife had survived. With a heavy heart, Spafford boarded a boat that would take him to his grieving Anna in England. It was on this trip that he penned these words:

“When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.”

How is it possible for these two men, Job and Horatio Spafford, to continue to praise God through all their grief and tragedy? For one to say “the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21b) and the other to echo this sentiment in his hymn.

Each verse of Spafford’s beautiful hymn contains wonderful expressions of faith and truth. In spite of the horrible tragedy, the comfort that comes from a strong faith in God shines brightly through the gloom. This hymn echoes of pain and suffering, but also of the eternal hope that Paul speaks about in Romans, a hope that all believers have.