Page 19 - Cornerstone Connection Magazine - Volume 22 - Issue 6

Unshakably Secure All four of his daughters perished in the waters of the Atlantic; only
his wife survived. The grieving father boarded the next boat and, as
If you’ve ever been in an earthquake—which I haven’t—you he passed the place near where the ship went down, he wrote these
know the sensation is unnerving. The very thing you believe is words: “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows
the most solid in the world—the ground you stand on—suddenly like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, ‘It
moves! It shakes, jolts, even ripples. No wonder, it’s called a “shock.” is well, it is well with my soul.’”*
Think about how shocked we were when the Coronavirus pan- How could he write such words? How could a man who had just
demic struck. Suddenly, the very things we thought were solid experienced such a tragic loss talk about peace? How could he say
shook beneath us—our jobs, our routines, our incomes, our access it was “well with his soul”? Spafford answers those questions in the
to food (and other necessities!), our social lives, even our wellbeing, following stanzas of the hymn—because his soul was anchored to
and the wellbeing of our families. Nothing seemed solid anymore. something, to someone, beyond this fleeting, turbulent, unpredict-
Maybe, we were shocked because we’ve never really believed the able, unstable world. It was anchored to the One who entered time
words of Jesus about where real security lies. Jesus taught that all and space to rescue us, Who promises to return, and Who will bring
ground, except for Him, is shifting sand. He is the only foundation about a new heaven and new earth in which all truly will be well.
that is unmovable. You can read about it in the Bible, or you can Would you consider shifting your trust, your “weight” to Jesus,
look at the lives of those who have shifted their “weight” to Jesus the One so many have found to be the solid, eternal Rock of Secu-
and His promises. rity? If so, I’d encourage you to begin by reading the book of John
Consider this one example. It was November 1873, and Horatio in the Bible and looking up the other verses of the hymn “When
Spafford had just seen his family off from Chicago to France for va- Peace Like a River.” You, too, will discover that no pandemic, no
cation. The successful lawyer enjoyed many of the world’s goods— economic crisis, no health scare—not even death itself—will ever
a successful career, enough money for European travels, a loving shake you again to the core, because the One on Whom you stand
wife, and four daughters. He planned to set sail to join his family a is unshakeable. ✝
few days later. But the ship carrying his loved ones collided with a
British vessel coming the other way, and it sank in twelve minutes. * Source: Hymnary.org

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