Peace Like a River
The beauty of the old hymn “When Peace Like a River” still resonates deeply. Written in the 19th century by Horatio Gates Spafford—a lawyer and Presbyterian elder—the hymn’s simple words and assuring refrain have endured across generations:
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.”
These words were not written from comfort but from grief and loss, which makes their confidence all the more powerful. Peace, here, is not the absence of sorrow. The sea billows still roll. Yet beneath the waves there is a deeper current—a peace that carries the soul.
Isaiah 48:18 echoes this same image: “Oh, that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” The verse begins with longing and regret. God is not scolding Israel but lamenting what might have been. “Oh, that you had…” reveals a heart of love—a divine desire for His people’s flourishing.
Peace, in Isaiah’s vision, is not fragile or occasional. It is described as a river—overflowing, steady, life-giving. Rivers keep moving even when the surface is disturbed. They carve pathways through hard ground over time. This is the peace God longs to give: not a momentary calm, but a sustaining presence that continues to flow even in difficulty.
Illustration Challenge
Imagine a river. Now picture a storm at sea—waves crashing, wind howling. Which image best describes your life right now? The challenge is this: take a small bowl of water and gently stir it until ripples form. Then stop. Watch how the water slowly becomes still again. Ask yourself: where might God be inviting me to trust His deeper peace beneath the surface of my circumstances?
Prayer
Loving God,
You long for our peace more than we do ourselves.
When sorrow rolls over us like waves,
teach us to trust the river of Your presence beneath.
Help us to listen, to follow, and to rest in You,
until we can say with confidence,
“It is well with my soul.”
Amen.
