Monday, 5/12/14
We sang in church yesterday one of the great hymns of the faith and a favorite of many Christians, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” Every time we sing it, it comforts my soul as I dwell on the great eternal truth that God is faithful. This great hymn was written by Thomas Chisholm and was set to music by William Runyun in 1923. Chisholm obviously had Lamentations 3:22-23 in his heart and mind when he wrote it. These verses say: It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed , because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
As examples or proofs of God’s faithfulness, the hymn points out that “there is no shadow of turning with Him.” In other words, He is not like us whose moods can vary all in the same day; He is always the same. That is why we can approach Him confidently in prayer knowing that we will be able to avail ourselves of His love, compassion, mercy, strength, and forgiveness anytime we need it. The hymn points out that “summer and winter and seedtime and harvest, and the sun, moon and stars in their courses” all attest to His amazing faithfulness. Think about it: Has there ever been a day in your life that the sun, moon and stars, or even the four seasons failed to appear? And I trust you don’t just attribute that to Mother Nature as so many people carelessly do. No, God made this promise: While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.(Genesis 8:22)
I thought there would be no better start to your week than to remind you that your God is faithful. Whatever you will need, whatever burden you may have, whatever special prayer petition you may have for yourself or a loved one, you can bring it to Him and leave it before Him in peace, comfort, and assurance. Because we have One we can always depend on, One who will never let us down or break our heart, there is absolutely no reason for doubt, fear, or uncertainty to bring us down. No, lets have a happy and victorious outlook and remember the faithfulness of the One who saved us, loves us, and is always with us.
Memory Verse for the week: (Hebrews 10:23) Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
PS: If you are interested, the internet is flooded with many renditions of this great hymn, some even with the lyrics. Check them out.
