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The True Story Behind 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus' · Traveler’s Tales

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  Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus was not born in a quiet study on a peaceful afternoon.
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  It was forged in the furnace of loss when a young wife and mother stood helpless on
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  a shoreline and watched her world collapse beneath the waves.
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  And yet, from that breaking came one of the sweetest confessions of trust the church has
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  ever sung.
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  This is Greg Downey, and I welcome you today to Traveler's Tales, brought to you by Enjoying
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  the Journey.
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  On Traveler's Tales, we pause to listen to the stories of believers who walked this path
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  before us.
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  As we remember what God did in their day, we pray that He will do something just as
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  powerful in ours.
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  Louisa M. R. Stead was born in Dover, England in 1850.
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  As a teenager, she sensed God's call to missionary service.
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  She moved to America, attended a camp meeting in Urbana, Ohio, and felt that call deepened.
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  She longed to go to China, but frail health closed that door.
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  Louisa married and began building a quiet life in New York.
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  She and her husband welcomed a daughter, Lily.
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  It must have seemed that life was finally settling into something steady.
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  Then came the day at Long Island Sound.
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  As they sat enjoying their picnic along the shore, they saw a young boy struggling against
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  the waves.
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  Without hesitation, Mr. Stead rushed toward the water and plunged in to save him.
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  But in the chaos that so often accompanies drowning, the frightened boy clung to his
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  rescuer, pulling him beneath the surface.
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  In a matter of moments, both disappeared under the water, as Louisa and little Lily stood
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  helplessly on the shore, watching the unthinkable unfold right before their eyes.
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  No warning, no time to prepare, no goodbyes, just overwhelming grief.
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  In the days that followed, Louisa wrestled with God.
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  She didn't pretend that the pain wasn't real.
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  But somewhere in that struggle, her heart anchored itself to a truth stronger than her
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  terrible circumstance, that God had not changed.
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  And from that place came the words, "'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take him
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  at his word."
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  Notice she did not write that it was easy to trust, nor did she say it was painless
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  to trust in God.
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  She said it is sweet.
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  Because sweetness is not found in the absence of sorrow.
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  It is found in the presence of Christ.
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  Her hymn repeats the name Jesus again and again, twenty-five times in the full text.
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  When everything else was taken from her, that name remained, Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him.
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  Grief did not sideline, Louisa said.
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  Shortly after her husband's death, she and her daughter sailed to South Africa as missionaries.
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  For fifteen years she served in Cape Colony.
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  Later she returned to the mission field in what is now Zimbabwe.
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  When she passed away in 1917 near the Mutambaro mission, believers in Rhodesia testified that
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  thousands of converts continued singing her hymn in their own language.
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  Her voice lived on in their worship.
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  Each stanza of her hymn unfolds like a quiet sermon.
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  To trust his word, to trust his cleansing blood, to lay down sin and self.
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  Trust is taking God at his word when your heart is breaking.
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  It is resting on his promise when you do not understand his plan.
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  Louisa Stead proved that God can be your trust in widowhood as well.
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  We love to sing this hymn in calm moments, but it was written in a storm.
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  Maybe you're in a storm right now.
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  A diagnosis, a loss, a shattered dream, a door that closed when you thought it would
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  open.
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  You may not have answers, but you have a savior.
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  And sometimes the deepest testimony you will ever give is not an explanation.
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  It is simple trust.
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  Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, oh for grace to trust him more.
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  Thanks for listening today.
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  Our prayer is that the Lord will use this story to be a help and encouragement to your
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  Christian walk.
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  For more stories like this one and for Bible study resources, visit us at etj.bible.
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  You will find podcasts, articles, videos, and more, all available to help you follow
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  God's word and find Christ's joy.
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  Amen.
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  Amen.