“’tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus” - Louisa Stead

1850–1917

Tragedy struck suddenly for Louisa Stead when she was on a Long Island beach with her husband and four-year-old daughter. Her husband dived into the water to save a child, but the child dragged them both under and they drowned. It happened right in front of Louisa and her daughter, Lily.

Imagine it. One minute you’re enjoying a perfect family afternoon, and the next your husband is gone because he tried to do something good. Louisa’s husband, the father of her child, the provider of her home, was there and then he wasn’t. It seems unfair. To add to the tragedy of it all, Louisa and her daughter were left in poverty. She had no money to take care of them, but she had her faith. Out of that faith came a poem, and that poem became the hymn “’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.”

As the story goes, one day when there was nothing to eat and no money to buy food, Louisa opened her door and found food and money that someone had left. She wrote the poem in response to that particular kindness, but the thoughts she expressed in it go deeper. This profound trust in Jesus must have been what she clung to daily as she dealt with the loss of her husband, the nurturing of her daughter, and the practical necessities of life.

“’Tis So Sweet” speaks of the gifts that come from trusting Jesus: resting on his promises, freedom from relying on self, and the ability to take “life and rest, and joy and peace” from him. Louisa concludes the hymn with the assurance that Jesus would “be with me to the end.” That’s a recurring promise in Scripture. Clearly, it’s what kept Louisa going.

What do you trust in when the hard times hit? Do you take comfort in knowing that you can trust in Jesus? That he is your Friend and Savior? Do you remind yourself that he is there with you until the end? It’s not always easy to turn your focus from the problems at hand and refocus on Jesus and his promises, but when you do, you will find that it is very sweet.

The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

Psalm 28:7