It Is Well When Life Is Not

Oct 04, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When the Telegram Reads “Saved Alone”

The crushing weight of “saved alone” echoes through empty rooms and unanswered prayers. Grief becomes a companion when life’s shipwrecks leave us grasping for remnants of what was lost. Yet faith persists not in denying the waves but in trusting the One who walks atop them. Horatio’s story teaches that “well with my soul” begins when we stop demanding answers and start clinging to the Answer. True peace flows not from calm seas but from the presence of Christ in the storm. [27:03]

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” (Psalm 42:11, ESV)

Reflection: Where does your soul feel “alone” today? How might clinging to Christ’s presence—not explanations—anchor you in this storm?

Day 2: Sea Billows and the Song Between

Sorrows like sea billows roll—not as metaphors but as lived reality for those who’ve watched life sink beneath the waves. Horatio’s hymn didn’t ignore the Atlantic’s darkness but fixed eyes on Calvary’s light. True faith sings of Christ’s blood while saltwater still stings wounded eyes. The hymn’s power lies not in its poetry but in its pivot: from drowning questions to resurrection hope. [30:51]

“When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” (Psalm 94:19, ESV)

Reflection: What “sea billows” threaten to drown your song? How might rehearsing Christ’s victory over death steady your rhythm today?

Day 3: Forgiving the Truck That Broke You

Forgiveness becomes radical when offered from a hospital bed, skin grafted and memory fractured. John’s choice to release bitterness before knowing the driver’s name reveals faith’s defiance—refusing to let trauma become a throne. Unforgiveness chains us to the wreck; forgiveness hands the keys to Christ. True healing begins when we stop demanding repayment and start declaring redemption. [48:40]

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32, ESV)

Reflection: What unresolved hurt demands your attention? How might releasing it to Christ—not excusing it—free you to walk lighter?

Day 4: Walking Wet in a Broken Body

Baptismal waters hold special weight for those who’ve relearned walking. John’s submerged body declared: “My survival isn’t my testimony—Christ’s victory is.” Every limping step into the pool whispers Romans 8—that neither life nor death get the final word. True baptism celebrates not our resilience but Christ’s resurrection power in scarred flesh. [54:10]

“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you need to “walk wet” today—living your baptismal identity despite visible wounds?

Day 5: The Love That Outlasts Shipwrecks

Nothing includes sinking ships and semi trucks. Paul’s “neither death nor life” covers both Horatio’s daughters and John’s scars. God’s love isn’t a force field against suffering but a current beneath it, carrying broken vessels home. When we stop measuring His faithfulness by our circumstances, we find the union no storm can sever. [53:09]

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: What current hardship tempts you to doubt God’s nearness? How might His track record with past storms steady you today?

Sermon Summary

Christian faith faces a hard question when everything is not well. Scripture never tells Christians that faithful people will escape terrible things, and Jesus never promises a life without suffering. Christian faith is not the promise that nothing bad will happen. Christian faith is the confidence that, when suffering comes, God does not leave His children to walk through it alone.

Horatio Spafford’s story puts that truth in flesh and blood. Horatio lost much in the Chicago Fire, and then received Anna’s devastating telegram after their four daughters died at sea: “Saved alone. What shall I do?” The Atlantic held their bodies, but Horatio believed it did not hold the final claim on them. Christ held them. The words, “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll,” came from a father whose sorrow was not abstract. The sea had taken his daughters.

“It is well with my soul” does not mean everything in life is well. Horatio did not call tragedy good, pretend grief did not hurt, or claim to understand why his daughters died. The hymn turns the eyes away from the sea and toward Jesus, His cross, the forgiveness of sin, and the day faith becomes sight. Christ remains Lord when everything else is not.

Paul asks the question suffering always brings: Can trouble, calamity, persecution, hunger, danger, or death separate anyone from Christ’s love? Romans 8 does not deny any of those things. Paul says “despite all these things,” overwhelming victory belongs to those Christ loves. The victory is not avoiding suffering. The victory is that suffering cannot separate God’s people from Jesus Christ.

John Gunn’s story gives that confession a present-day face. John’s motorcycle accident shattered his body, brought more than thirty surgeries, and left his family praying beside a hospital bed without knowing what would happen next. Lily’s prayers showed what faith looks like when there are no answers. Faith keeps praying, believing, and worshiping when all that can be said is, “God, I do not know what happens next.”

John’s forgiveness of the driver showed that bitterness would not become lord over his life. Forgiveness did not make the accident okay. Forgiveness declared that the accident, the injuries, fear, and anger would not get the final word. Jesus Christ gets the final word.

Baptism declares that same reality. John walked into the water not to say, “Look what I survived,” but, “Look who my Savior is.” Romans 6 names baptism as burial with Christ and resurrection into new life. Nothing, neither life nor death, can separate those who belong to Christ from the love of God.

Key Takeaways

1. Suffering does not cancel God’s love. Christian faith does not measure God’s goodness by the ease of a particular season. Paul names trouble, danger, hunger, and death because these things truly come, even to faithful people. God’s love in Christ remains steady when circumstances are anything but steady. [36:08]
2. “It is well” names the soul. Horatio’s confession did not deny the wreckage of his life. The peace he named rested not in an explanation for his daughters’ deaths, but in Christ’s cross, promises, and coming kingdom. A soul can be held by Jesus while a heart still grieves deeply. [31:39]
3. Faith prays without having answers. Lily standing beside John’s hospital bed showed faith in its raw and honest form. Faith does not require certainty about tomorrow before it speaks to God today. Faith keeps turning toward Christ when pain leaves few words to say. [43:36]
4. Forgiveness refuses bitterness the final word. John’s forgiveness did not minimize the damage done to him or erase the long road ahead. Forgiveness released the driver, the accident, and the anger from ruling John’s inner life. Jesus alone has the right to define the final meaning of suffering. [50:22]
5. Baptism declares Christ’s new life. Baptism is not a celebration of human toughness or an emotional reaction to a powerful moment. Baptism publicly confesses union with Christ in His death and resurrection. The waters declare that a believer belongs to Jesus, whatever comes next. [55:03]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[19:46] - When Everything Is Not Well
[23:19] - Horatio Spafford’s Tragic Loss
[29:44] - The Story Behind “It Is Well”
[35:16] - Romans 8 and Christ’s Love
[38:54] - John Gunn’s Motorcycle Accident
[42:44] - Faith at the Hospital Bed
[45:48] - Victory Despite Suffering
[47:33] - Forgiveness and the Final Word
[51:19] - Nothing Can Separate Us
[54:34] - Baptism: Buried and Raised With Christ
[56:19] - The Apostles’ Creed
[1:14:15] - John’s Baptism
[1:15:32] - A Call to Meaningful Baptism
[1:18:01] - Closing Blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Romans 8:35-39
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [35:55]

Romans 6:3-4
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” [55:00]

Jude 1:24-25
“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” [01:18:21]

Observation questions

In Romans 8:35–39, what kinds of suffering and fears does Paul name as things that might seem able to separate believers from Christ’s love? [35:55]
What distinction is made between saying “everything is well” and saying “it is well with my soul”? [31:50]
According to Romans 8:37, when does Paul say believers experience victory: before suffering comes, or “despite” suffering? [46:05]
In Romans 6:3–4, what does baptism show about a believer’s connection to Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and new life? [55:00]

Interpretation questions

Paul does not promise that Christians will avoid trouble, danger, loss, or death. How does his promise that nothing can separate believers from Christ’s love speak differently than a promise of an easy life? [47:11]
Why is it important to say that a tragedy is truly tragic rather than calling it good? How can someone still trust God without understanding why suffering happened? [45:28]
John forgave the driver without minimizing the harm that was done. What does forgiveness mean when it does not erase consequences, restore health, or make the wrong acceptable? [50:22]
Romans 6 connects baptism with being buried and raised with Christ. How does this help explain why baptism is more than celebrating someone’s survival, improvement, or personal strength? [54:25]

Application questions

Is there a painful situation in your life that has led you to ask, “God, why did You allow this?” What would it look like to bring that question honestly to God rather than withdrawing from Him? [20:31]
Where are you tempted to measure God’s goodness by whether a circumstance turns out the way you want? How does Romans 8 challenge that way of thinking? [53:27]
When you do not know what will happen next, what simple prayer could help you keep turning toward Jesus? Is there a person facing uncertainty whom you could pray with this week? [45:04]
Is there an injury, offense, or person that still has too much power over your thoughts and emotions? What might it look like to begin releasing bitterness so that Jesus, rather than the hurt, has the final word? [50:28]
How can you make room for grief in your life or in the life of someone else without trying to rush them into easy answers or forced positivity? [32:02]
If you have been baptized, how does your baptism remind you that you belong to Jesus in both joyful and painful seasons? If you have not been baptized, what questions do you need to work through about trusting Christ and publicly identifying with Him? [01:16:34]

Sermon Clips

48s

#JesusHasTheFinalWord

“I need you to listen to me here. Forgiveness didn't make what happened that day okay. Forgiveness meant what happening wasn't going to become Lord over John's life. The accident doesn't get the final word. The injuries don't. The surgeries don't. The man driving the truck doesn't. Bitterness doesn't. Fear doesn't. But Jesus Christ does. That's who gets the last word in all of this. Faith doesn't always change what happens to us, but faith changes who gets the final word over us. That's why we have faith.”

50s

#ItIsWellWithMySoul

“Horatio never gives us an explanation why four little girls died in the Atlantic Ocean. Instead, he answers a different question. Where can I place the weight of my soul when I cannot make sense of what happened to me? Harishou's answer was Jesus Christ. His blood, his cross, his sacrifice, his promises, and even his future kingdom. That's why Horatio could say, it is well with my soul, not because everything was well, but because Christ was still Lord when everything else wasn't.”

40s

#FaithOverSuffering

“Paul doesn't say the trouble disappears. He doesn't say suffering didn't happen. He says, despite it, despite everything that's happened, none of it can be taken away what we have in Jesus Christ. The victory isn't that we avoided suffering. The victory is that suffering couldn't separate us from Jesus Christ. That's the victory folks. That's what I want you to understand about John's story this morning.”

42s

#GodIsWithUs

“And sometimes we just don't know where this is gonna go because here's often what happened somewhere along the way. These people, they they began believing that if God is good, he would never allow something terrible to happen to them. But scripture never promises us that. Jesus never promised a life without suffering. Christian faith isn't the promise that nothing terrible will ever happen to us. Christian faith is the confidence that we have when the suffering comes, that we do not walk through it alone. That's Christian faith.”

45s

#BelongToJesus

“As John and I will get ready for the baptism, you're all gonna sing, It is well with my soul. So maybe we understand those words, those old words, a little bit differently today. It is Well With My Soul isn't the song of someone whose life has been easy. It isn't pretending suffering doesn't hurt. It's the confession of someone who knows whatever comes, I belong to Jesus. And nothing, nothing can ever separate me from that love.”

40s

#BaptismOfFaith

“There was a time when John had to learn how to walk all over again. And today, he's gonna need some help getting down in into the water, and that's okay. Because this isn't a demonstration of John's strength. This isn't a celebration of human determination. This isn't ultimately the story of a man who survived a motorcycle accident. isn't walking into that water today saying, look at what I survived. He's walking in that water saying, look at who my savior is.”

45s

#GodsFaithfulness

“So I want to answer the question that I posed at the very beginning of the sermon. How can someone say it is well with my soul when everything is not well with their life? It's simple because our circumstances do not determine God's faithfulness. Our circumstances, our suffering does not determine God's goodness, and nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ. That's what Horatio was confessing, and today, that's what John is confessing.”

41s

#NewLifeInChrist

“This is why we talk about the baptism behind us being a watery grave. And when we lay somebody down in the water, they are putting to death their old way of life. And as we raise them back up again, it is a new life, a new life in Christ, a life that has a future and a hope. That's what John wants you to know today. Jesus Christ is his Lord. Jesus Christ is his savior. And today, he wants to declare that publicly.”

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