Horatio Spafford

She is a speaker, an author, a writer, and a woman who's sharing her testimony of losing her sight at the age of 15 and still having hope in an eternity with Jesus.

And if you're not familiar with that story, beloved hymn that was written by a man by named Horatio Spafford, who lost everything in the great Chicago fire and then lost his children following that and a tragic ship sinking.

And as he was going to meet his wife and passing over the site where his children had lost their lives, he penned the words to that.

And Those kinds of unshakable faiths, those unshakable testimonies in the face of things that seem like they would cause you to lose hope are in fact what gives hope to so many of us in the world.

And of course, those lyrics are inspired by one of the most beloved hymns of all time, It Is Well.

And if you're not familiar with that story, those lyrics were penned by a man named Horatio Spafford.

who lost everything in a Chicago fire and then lost all of his children in a ship that sank afterwards.

And as he was sailing past the point where his children had perished, penned those words.

If you've ever experienced it, you know it.

Sometimes it makes me think of Horatio Spafford.

I know I've told this story before.

It's one of my favorite stories.

So your misery, your greatest misery may become your greatest ministry.

You know who I think of, and you've heard me tell this story through the years, Horatio Spafford.

He was an attorney in Chicago.

He sent his wife and his kids on a cruise over to England.

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

Many of you have probably heard the story of Horatio Spafford and the song that he wrote, It Is Well With My Soul.

I've told this story many times here at Cornerstone, but you may not have heard the rest of their story.

There's a part two after their tragedy.

for the sake of those who have never heard the first part just a quick synopsis horatio spafford was a very successful attorney in the 1800s living in chicago very prosperous very successful had a lot of money invested in real estate that got completely destroyed when the great chicago fire swept through the city in 1871. he lost everything And when he lost everything, shortly after the Great Chicago Fire, a couple years later, in 1873, he sent his wife and four little girls on a ship over to Paris to have some time to just kind of relax and refresh their weary souls after they lost everything there in Chicago.

And so Anna and her four children, Anna Spafford and her four children got on board that sailing vessel.

And on November the 21st, 1873, there was a mid-Atlantic collision with another sailing vessel.

She was rescued on some floating debris.

It is well.

Is it well with your soul today? 1873, Horatio Spafford planned a trip for he and his family to go to Europe.

It was a family vacation that included a stop-off to assist the evangelist D.L. Moody.

At the last minute, Spafford, who was a businessman who had lost everything in the Chicago fire, needed to stay home for business and sent his wife Anna and his four daughters, Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie.

There's a great man that we know, a hymn writer.

Horatio Spafford was a successful lawyer and businessman in the 19th century in the Chicago area.

He and his wife, Anna, had five children.

In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed much of his property, caused Spafford significant financial loss.