How much can one person endure? That thought may have crossed Horatio Spafford’s mind when he crossed the Atlantic on his way to reunite with his wife in England and passed the very spot where his four precious daughters had drowned. If he did ponder that question, he must have prayed and found solace, for it was on that voyage that he wrote the famous hymn titled “It Is Well with My Soul.”

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well (it is well),

with my soul (with my soul),

It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:

If Jordan above me shall roll,

No pain shall be mine, for in death as in life

Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

And Lord haste the day, when the faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

The lyrics of this hymn have crossed my mind repeatedly over the years as I’ve struggled through many trials and as I’ve heard the tragic stories of so many others since the birthing of Help 4 Families. “How,” I’ve asked God, “can it be well with my soul while I—and so many others—face so many heartbreaks?”

I want that Horatio Spafford kind of faith. I want a faith that sees past the plentiful trials to the glory beyond where it is well with my soul. How can I get there? How can you get there? How can it be well with our souls in the midst of any kind of trouble?

Wherever you are on your interval between birth and death, will you join me in looking to Jesus, the one knows all the troubles we’ve seen? With God in us, beside us and before us, we’ll discover how we can enjoy the interval. May we know God’s peace deep down in our souls—a peace that transcends trials.