Rays of Light

She had prayed for him the entire twenty-six years of their marriage, but he never once considered giving his heart to the Lord God until he was so far down that the only direction he could look was up.

When her appendix ruptured and infection swept mercilessly through her body, this man’s wife nearly died. But she was a strong believer and her faith sustained her through the long ordeal. Shortly after that, her husband was preparing to have a frightening and risky surgery. He could only hope that the procedure would ease some of his physical suffering. His spiritual health was another issue; He finally understood the grave consequences of his rebellion and his great need of the Savior.

Ten minutes before he left for the hospital, preparing to face an uncertain future, the belligerent man bowed his head in prayer and willingly submitted his heart. “I had prayed for God to save his soul,” his wife explained to me, “no matter what it took.” Then she chuckled. “Of course, I didn’t expect that it would take all of this.”

“If he genuinely gave his heart to the Lord,” I assured her, “it was worth all the suffering.” She wholeheartedly agreed. “And his was not a prayer born of fear,” she explained. “He was sincere; the change in him was apparent from the very moment that he prayed and invited the Lord into his heart, and he is still a different man altogether. Oh, he still has a lot of physical problems, but he doesn’t mind at all; for the first time in his life, he is truly at peace!”

I certainly understand this. I know from experience and can say with utmost confidence:

In the midst of pain,
God never leaves us nor forsakes us.
He gives us a peace which passes all understanding.
He comforts us.
He encourages us.
He strengthens us.
He helps us.
In the midst of pain,
He heals us.

The dear saints which penned the beautiful hymns of old understood this well. Sadly, with the prevalence of newer, more contemporary worship music, the younger generations have never heard many of these old hymns’ inspiring words- precious words which flood the soul with joy and awe. And fewer still have ever heard the stories of how many of these hymns came to be.

Frances “Fanny” Crosby wrote more than 8,000 glorious hymns including Blessed Assurance. Despite the fact that she was blind since infancy, her hymns all glorify God and declare His love and His goodness towards us all. She never viewed her blindness as a handicap, but rather as a gift.

Why? In her own words, “It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me.”

Many of the other hymn writers were blind as well, or suffering other harsh physical infirmities. Charlotte Elliot, for instance, was a bedridden invalid when she wrote Just as I am. She wrote this hymn during a time when she was battling emotional turmoil and doubt. The song is so powerful that is has been played during altar calls since its creation, and is still used today for the same purpose.

Some hymnists even suffered from depression so severe that they battled with suicidal tendencies. Others, whether depressed or not, wrote their greatest hymns during times of great personal tragedy.

You would have thought, for instance, that Horatio Gates Spafford would have written It is well with my soul at a time in his life when circumstances were pleasant. On the contrary; life was dealing Mr. Spafford one severe blow after another. The Spaffords’ only son died of scarlet fever. One year later, they lost all of their capital, invested in real estate, to the great Chicago fire. Then, a short time later, all four of the Spaffords daughters died when their ship sank at sea.

Horatio Spafford’s spirits could have sunk into the depths as well, but instead, he penned the words:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

How many of us can truly say that all is well when we are faced with agonizing pain, whether emotional or physical? How many can honestly say:

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

This is my story, this is my song;
Praising my savior all the day long!

Throughout the ages, untold millions have been able to offer thanksgiving and praise despite their most difficult trials. Is this irrational? Perhaps it is to those who do not know God, but all those who put their trust in Him have this one thing in common: they know with utmost certainty that no matter what circumstance or trial we face-

In the midst of pain, God….