In the most desperate moments of life, where is God?  When tragedy strikes and life seems hopeless, does God care?

          Earlier in our service, we read the story of a widow and her son who were at the end of their resources.  There was a famine in the land, and there was quite simply nothing left to eat.  Elijah came to the woman and asked her to give him something to eat.  But the woman replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a little oil in a jug.  I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

          As far as the woman could see, there was no hope.  But Elijah directed her to have faith and give him the first portion of the bread she intended to make—what she expected to be the last meal for her son and herself.  She did as Elijah asked, and gave him the first portion of that last piece of bread.  And as Elijah promised, her jar of flour was not used up and her jug of oil did not run dry.

          Then another tragedy struck, and her son—remember this is a very poor widow with only one son—this son became very ill.  The woman was devastated, and cursed Elijah, the man of God.  But Elijah cried out to the Lord and prayed for the boy, and God worked a miracle, and the boy’s life was restored.

          God had seen the plight of this poor woman and had rescued her.  God cared about that woman when she and her son had nothing left to eat, and later when her son died.  Her situation mattered to God.

          In Luke, there is another woman—another widow—who loses her only son.   In this story, Jesus has great compassion for the woman.  Jesus knows the devastation of widowhood—a woman in that time without a husband was particularly vulnerable.  If she had sons, there was hope at least that her sons would care for her in her old age.  But without a son, she was alone in the world.

          This is the story, as told in Luke 7:11-17.

¹¹Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹²As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."

 ¹⁴Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" ¹⁵The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

 ¹⁶They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." ¹⁷This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

          It’s very possible that when Jesus saw this grieving woman, he thought of his own mother.  Although the Bible does not tell us specifically, it appears that Mary, Jesus’ mother, was a widow, because after the stories of Jesus’ childhood, we never hear about Joseph, his father, again.   Probably Jesus had seen the sorrow his mother experienced being left a widow.  As the oldest son, Jesus probably had to learn rather early how to support his mother and his younger siblings.

          So when he saw this woman—a widow—who had lost first her husband, and now lost her only son, it says his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

          The reason he told her not to cry was not that he didn’t think she should be grieving, but because he was about to do something to change the situation.  His heart went out to her and he wanted to help her.  Jesus takes the widow’s sorrow into his heart and shares in her pain.  And he chooses to do a miracle on her behalf.

          There has always been and will always be tragedy in the world.  None of us knows what tomorrow will bring in our lives.  But I believe that the one thing that makes a difference for us is knowing that God cares deeply about what happens in our lives.  As Jesus demonstrated when he saw that woman grieving, his heart goes out to each of us when we suffer.  He cares about what happens to us.

          Even when we are the ones who bring tragedy upon ourselves, and this is so often the case, God cares about us.  Hebrews 4:15 says “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.”  Jesus understands us and his heart goes out to us, even when we have a big part in creating our own misery.

          As this little story opens, there is a large crowd accompanying this burial procession.  The dead person is being carried out, and there is a large crowd from the town accompanying the widow.  The crowd, presumably, is there to mourn with the woman.

          Yet, as any of you who have experienced great tragedy in your lives know, even the presence of a large crowd of mourners cannot solve the loneliness of grief.  There is a place where no one else can touch our personal grief.  The woman may be surrounded by well-wishers, but her grief is still her own, and nothing anyone says can remove her loneliness and her fear of the future.

          But Jesus comes to her.  And in this particular incident, Jesus brings her son back to life and restores him to her.

          Of course, most of the time God does not bring dead people back to life.  Death is part of our earthly existence.  Even those people who were miraculously healed or resurrected in the Bible eventually died.  But what God can and absolutely will do if we allow him is to heal our hearts.

          I titled this sermon, “Is It Well with Your Soul?”  This is a take off of the title of that wonderful hymn—which we are going to sing in a few minutes—“It Is Well with My Soul.”  I ask the question because the health of your soul is what really matters.

          If it is well with your soul, you will be well equipped to survive the tragedies and sorrows that will come your way.  You need not be afraid, because you will never be left alone.  God will always be there to comfort you.  This does not mean it will be easy, but you will not be alone.

          It does not mean you will not experience sorrow or that you will never suffer.  God never makes that promise to us.  The promise God makes to us is this:  “I will never leave you or forsake you.”  No matter what we encounter in life, God will be there for us.

          I think one of the best examples of this is the story behind this song, “It Is Well with My Soul.”  It’s the story of Horatio Spafford, the man who wrote the words to this beautiful song.

          Spafford was a highly successful businessman who lived in Chicago in the 1800’s.

          In 1871, tragedy struck Chicago, as fire ravaged the city—I’m sure you have heard of the great Chicago fire, which destroyed much of the city. When it was all over, 300 people were dead and 100,000 were homeless.   Horatio Gates Spafford was one of those who tried to help the people of the city get back on their feet. He was a lawyer who had invested much of his money into downtown Chicago real estate, and he lost a great deal in the fire. Not only that; at about the same time, his only son had died. He also had a wife and four daughters. For two years Spafford--who was a friend of evangelist Dwight Moody--assisted the homeless, the impoverished, and the grief-stricken who had been ruined by the fire.
          After about two years of this work, Spafford and his family decided to take a vacation. They were to go to England to join Moody and Ira Sankey on one of their evangelistic crusades, then travel in Europe. Horatio Spafford was delayed by some business, but sent his family on ahead to visit relatives in Europe. He planned to catch up to them on the other side of the Atlantic.
          The ship that carried Spafford’s wife and four daughters, the Ville de Havre, never made it. Off Newfoundland, it collided with an English sailing ship, the Loch Earn, and sank within 20 minutes. Horatio's wife, Anna, was able to cling to a piece of floating wreckage and she was rescued by a lifeboat.  She was one of only 47 survivors among hundreds of passengers.  All four of the Spaffords’ young daughters--Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie--were drowned. Horatio Spafford received a horrible telegram from his wife, only two words long: "saved alone."
          Spafford boarded the next available ship to be with his grieving wife, and the two finally met up with Dwight Moody. "It is well," Spafford told him quietly. "The will of God be done."  Spafford was about forty five old years at the time.
          It was during those days of overwhelming grief that Spafford was led to write the words of one of the most beautiful hymns we know, much loved by many, many Christians:  “It Is Well with My Soul.”  One account is that he wrote the words while crossing the Atlantic, but another account, probably more accurate, says he wrote the song three years after the tragedy.  Either way, his song is a wonderful contribution to all of us.
          This hymn is the testimony of a person who truly understood what it was to suffer, and what it meant to trust in God.  God did not miraculously save his children.  But God did give Horatio Spafford peace in his heart and soul. 

          Spafford understood what it meant that Jesus had loved him enough to die for him, and that his own sins had been forgiven.  That comforted him, as he writes in the song.

          Several years ago, I came to particularly appreciate the third verse of this song.  I became aware of a teaching in some churches that was very disturbing to me.  Although they claimed to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, they were continuing to focus on their sin, and trying to work at purifying themselves.  Certainly it is good for us to work on becoming more Christ-like.  However, we have to realize that we are totally, completely forgiven by the work of Jesus on the cross.  Nothing we do adds to the work of Jesus on the cross—as another song says, “Jesus paid it all.”

          So I find Spafford’s verse about forgiveness especially meaningful and helpful.  Let me read it to you.
          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!
We can find great comfort in the fact that Jesus died, not just for some of our sins, but for all of our sins.  In addition, Jesus died, not just for some people, but for all people.  His forgiveness is complete, and it is for all of us.

          To know that and to believe it is to be able to answer the question, “Is it Well with Your Soul?” by saying “Yes, it is well with my soul.”
          If you can’t answer that question in the affirmative, I invite you to make a decision today to trust Jesus.  It’s really very simple.  It’s a matter of admitting that you are a sinner, and accepting the gift that Jesus has already given you:  salvation. 

          Jesus died for each one of us.  He did it because he loves us.  He asks nothing from us for our salvation, except that we accept what he has done for us.  Our salvation is by the grace of God alone—there is nothing at all we need to do in order to earn our salvation.

          When we trust in him, he forgives us and gives us the gift of life—both for now and for all eternity.  And when we know that we are forgiven and loved by God, who will never leave us or forsake us no matter what happens, we can say with the songwriter, “It is well, it is well, it is well with my soul.”

Prayer:

Lord, we are so grateful for our salvation.  Thank you for your incredible gift of salvation given for us.  Thank you also for the gift of peace in our souls. 

Gracious God, if there are those here today who do not feel peace in their souls, I ask that you would touch them with your great love and compassion.  Draw them to yourself.  Let them know that you have already paid the price for their sin, and they can know your salvation in their hearts today and forever.  May they put their faith in you, so they can sing from the bottom of their hearts, “It is well, it is well with my soul.”

Lord, if there are some who have trusted you in the past but are no longer feeling your peace, I pray for them.  Remind them once again of your great love for them.  Remind them that their sins are completely, totally forgiven.  Remind them that you will always be with them, no matter what happens.  Restore in their hearts that deep, abiding faith that will allow them to sing in all honesty, “It is well, it is well with my soul.”

Amen