Is It Well With Your Soul?

“IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL”

INTRO:

This past week on Thursday morning. I nearly died and I mean that! My defibrillator fired off knocking me unconscious to the floor and then fired again after I got up! I’ve had some heart issues & the Dr.'s implanted it a little over 5 yrs ago. It has never went off until the other day.

It was about 5:40 am when it fired off. I was scared to say the least! Since I'd felt no previous issues or complications that would precede the episode I began to consider that the device had malfunctioned. Frankly, I was hoping the device had malfunctioned! I texted one of my District Officials explaining what had happened & asked for prayer.

I didn't want to scare her but I'm not ashamed to say I was scared myself! I didn't want to be alone but I didn't want to scare her. I went to bed and got up. She came home from working at the church for a bit & I drove her back & finally told her at the church door. We went inside & the ladies there laid hands on me & prayed for me! Thinking the episode was over & I was OK it took some coaxing from Darla & the ladies for me to agree to go to the ER. As fear began to overwhelm me I started feeling a little emotional! In the back of my mind I was praying that all would be well and I could go home.

Tests were run, blood was taken, I was hooked up to wires from head to toe, monitors started whirring with my name on them, lines running across monitors jerking every time I moved or breathed, as well as a battery of questions to be answered.

Finally it was decided that I wasn't dying at that moment but obviously something had happened. The ER Team called the company who made the device & they sent a Technician out some 3 hours later. He interrogated the device & looked at me & stated that the device had not only "NOT" malfunctioned but had saved my life. His words were, "You're alive because of this device."

Pretty sobering words to hear in anybody's ears & heart. I began to think about my wife, my kids, family & grand kids. Yes, I did thank God, but not in all the earnestness you would think, surprisingly at least not at that moment. I guess was just dumbfounded by the whole episode. In fact it has taken me a few days to come to terms and face in my spirit what had happened and finally breakdown to pieces before God utterly speechless before him. Can't explain it other than I guess I didn't want to face what had happened!

I guess I didn't want to face it head on anymore than I had already been forced to face, but I came face to face with it again when I posted on Face Book what happened and during my initial feeble response to what happened and what God had done for me I started crying and fell apart before God at my desk as I began to realize in a stronger way just how close I had come to death! DEATH STARED ME IN THE FACE AND GOD STARED IT DOWN!

I saw a post, under mine, of a trio singing "It Is Well With My Soul!"

It was written by Horatio Spafford a wealthy Chicago lawyer who lived in the mid 1800's with a thriving legal practice, a beautiful home, a wife, four daughters and a son. He was a devout Christian and faithful student of the Scriptures. His circle of friends included Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey and various other well-known Christians of the day.

At the very height of his financial & professional success, Horatio & his wife Anna suffered the tragic loss of their young son. Shortly thereafter on October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed almost every real estate investment that Spafford had.

In 1873, Spafford scheduled a boat trip to Europe in order to give his wife & daughters a much needed vacation and time to recover from the tragedy. He also went to join Moody and Sankey on an evangelistic campaign in England. Spafford sent his wife & daughters ahead of him while he remained in Chicago to take care of some unexpected last minute business. Several days later he received notice that his family's ship had encountered a collision. 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 those now famous words,

"WHEN SORROWS LIKE THE SEA BILLOWS ROLL; IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL, IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL."