FaithAgent DevoDecks — Study Guide
It Is Well with My Soul
A 10-Stage Journey Through Horatio Spafford's Hymn
Romans 5:1 · Colossians 2:14 · 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 | For personal study, small
groups, and grief ministry
📋 Study Guide Overview
Subject: Peace, sovereignty, atonement,
hope, declaration
Theme: Faith anchored in Christ when
circumstances scream otherwise
Audience: Those in grief, loss, suffering,
or spiritual warfare
Sessions: 10 sections (adaptable to 5 or 10
sessions)
Horatio Spafford lost his fortune in the Chicago Fire and his four daughters in a
shipwreck. Sailing over the spot where they died, he wrote "It Is Well with My Soul." This study guide walks
through each verse, unpacking the theology Spafford clung to when feelings failed. Each section includes the
hymn line, Scripture, and a Pray/Reflect/Act response.
"When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll…"
Spafford's story: the Chicago Fire, the shipwreck, the "Saved alone" telegram, and
the hymn written over the Atlantic.
Psalm 46:1–3"God is our refuge and strength, a very present
help in trouble."
🙏 Pray
Confess where you've let circumstances define God's presence. Receive the truth: He is very present
in trouble.
🪞 Reflect
What is your "sea billow" right now? When you picture God in your worst moment, is He present or
absent?
⚡ Act
Write down your worst circumstance. Under it, write Psalm 46:1.
"When peace like a river attendeth my way…"
Christ's peace is not the world's peace. It doesn't depend on circumstances — it
depends on Christ's finished work.
John 14:27"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives."
Romans 5:1"We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ."
🙏 Pray
Confess looking for the world's peace. Receive Christ's peace — finished-work peace.
🪞 Reflect
Is your definition of peace "things going well" or "Christ holding me"?
⚡ Act
Write John 14:27 on a card. Read it every time anxiety rises today.
"Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, 'It is well, it is well with my soul.'"
The lot does not determine the soul's state. God's sovereignty holds us when grief
threatens to consume us.
Romans 8:28"All things work together for good, for those
who love God."
Habakkuk 3:17–18"Though the fig tree should not blossom…
yet I will rejoice in the LORD."
🙏 Pray
Confess making peace conditional on your lot. Receive Romans 8:28.
🪞 Reflect
Can you say "it is well with my soul" right now? What specific loss or fear prevents it?
⚡ Act
Write your own Habakkuk prayer: "Even though ___, yet I will rejoice in the LORD."
"Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul."
— Horatio Spafford, 1873
"Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance
control…"
Satan attacks, trials come — but Christ's assurance controls. The Victor has already
won.
1 Peter 5:8–9"Resist him, firm in your faith."
Colossians 2:15"He disarmed the rulers and authorities and
put them to open shame."
🙏 Pray
Confess letting the buffeting control you. Receive the blest assurance of the cross.
🪞 Reflect
What is the enemy's primary accusation? Does it carry more weight than the cross?
⚡ Act
Name one accusation. Write Colossians 2:15 over it: "Disarmed. Put to open shame."
"Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and has shed His own blood for my soul."
The theological center: grace came to the helpless, not the improved. Spafford clung
to doctrine, not emotion.
Romans 5:6–8"While we were still weak, at the right time
Christ died for the ungodly."
🙏 Pray
Confess trying to be less helpless before approaching God. Receive: He came to the helpless.
🪞 Reflect
Do you behave as though God helps those who help themselves — or those who are helpless?
⚡ Act
Write "Christ regarded my helpless estate." Sit with the word helpless. Don't soften it.
"My sin — oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! — my sin, not in part but the whole,
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more."
The hinge of the hymn. Complete atonement — not partial. Every sin nailed. The
weight is gone.
Colossians 2:14"The record of debt… he set aside, nailing
it to the cross."
Hebrews 10:14"By a single offering he has perfected for all
time those who are being sanctified."
🙏 Pray
Confess carrying sins God already nailed to the cross. Receive: I bear it no more.
🪞 Reflect
Is there a sin you keep picking back up? Can you call total forgiveness "bliss"?
⚡ Act
Write every sin you carry guilt for. Read Colossians 2:14 over each. Cross them out: "Nailed. I bear
it no more."
"My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the
Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!"
— Horatio Spafford
"Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!"
No condemnation in Christ. We can grieve deeply and worship truly at the same time.
Romans 8:1"There is therefore now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus."
🙏 Pray
Confess confusing grief with condemnation. Receive: there is no condemnation in Christ.
🪞 Reflect
Have you secretly believed your suffering is punishment? What would it look like to grieve and praise
simultaneously?
⚡ Act
Weep if you need to. Then read Romans 8:33–34. Start a worship song — even if your voice shakes.
"And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a
scroll…"
The blessed hope: Christ's return, resurrection, reunion. The sky, not the grave, is
our goal.
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17"The Lord himself will descend… the
dead in Christ will rise first."
Revelation 21:4"He will wipe away every tear… death shall
be no more."
🙏 Pray
Confess setting hope on this world. Receive the blessed hope: Christ is coming back.
🪞 Reflect
Have you lost someone? Do you live with the hope of reunion? What would change if you believed the
trumpet will sound?
⚡ Act
Write the name of someone you've lost. Under it: "The dead in Christ will rise first." Read
Revelation 21:4.
"Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!"
God whispers peace — through Scripture, the Spirit, and the promise of Psalm 23. Not
always a shout, often a whisper.
Psalm 23:4"Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."
Philippians 4:7"The peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts."
🙏 Pray
Confess mistaking silence for absence. Receive His whisper: "I am with you."
🪞 Reflect
When was the last time you heard God's whisper? Are you listening for a shout?
⚡ Act
Sit in 5 minutes of silence. Say: "Whisper Your peace to my soul." Read Psalm 23 slowly.
"It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul."
The final declaration. Not a feeling — a decision. Not denial — faith. Say it
because your Savior is good.
Habakkuk 3:17–18"Though the fig tree should not blossom…
yet I will rejoice in the LORD."
2 Corinthians 4:16–18"This light momentary affliction is
preparing for us an eternal weight of glory."
🙏 Pray
Say it: "It is well with my soul." By faith, not feeling. Over your loss, your grief, your burden.
🪞 Reflect
What shifts when you declare "it is well" — not as feeling, but as faith? What loss do you need to
speak those words over?
⚡ Act
Stand up. Say slowly: "It is well with my soul." Share this hymn with someone in grief. Sing it this
week — even if your voice breaks.
My Declaration
"By faith, not by feeling, I declare: it is well with my soul. My sin is
nailed to the cross. There is no condemnation. God is sovereign over my sorrow. Christ is coming back.
It is well."