Jan 9
Why have Hope in 2023? Great is His faithfulness.. in spite of all you’re going through.
He is our living hope!
"My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 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. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him." Lam. 3:20-25
"God’s mercy and grace give me hope--for myself, and for our world." — Billy Graham
"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." —Martin Luther King, Jr.
H.O.P.E. — Hold on, patiently endure.
H.O.P.E. — Hold on, PRAY ENCOURAGED!
H.O.P.E. — Hold on pain ends.
And the Lord our hope.. stays faithful.
Question: Got some ongoing challenges that are just beyond your control.. but hey.. you still want to be used of God?
Be encouraged in Him. The Lord can still use you!
Today I was thrilled to learn of Mr. Chisholm who had some real hardships, trials and testings in life but he grew in the word in advanced.
He suffered with health problems so he couldn’t minister as he really wanted to. I mean career-wise, therefore Thomas instead chose to write a lot of truth-based poems to glorify the Lord. What can..what will you do by faith?
Thomas Obediah Chisholm was born in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky in 1866. He received his education in a little country schoolhouse, and at age 16 began teaching at the same school. He became a Christian at age 27, and with no college or seminary training was ordained to the Methodist ministry at age 36. Chisholm did serve as a Methodist minister for a year, but due to his health issues, it became impossible for him to continue on as a career minister. He therefore moved to Vineland, New Jersey, where he opened an insurance office.
Chisholm wrote hundreds of poems during his lifetime. In 1923, he was inspired by Lamentations 3:22-23 to write the text for the hymn, "Great is thy Faithfulness." Those verses are as follows, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
Great Is Thy Faithfulness was first published in 1923 but it long stayed relatively unknown until a Moody Bible Institute professor found it and used it very often in chapel services. This song was then popularized by George Beverly Shea who sang it at the Billy Graham evangelistic crusades around 1945.
Hear George Beverly Shea Sing 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness' - (video)
1 Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with thee.
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not; as thou hast been, thou forever wilt be. Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see; all I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
2 Summer and winter and springtime and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. [Refrain]
3 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide, strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! [Refrain]
Man O man, the raw and poignant Christian stories behind our hymns really encourage me! You know like from what happened to Horatio Gates Spafford.
Two years after the devastation of the Great Chicago Fire, he and his family planned a nice trip over to Europe. Late business demands (zoning issues arising from the conflagration) kept Spafford from joining his wife and four daughters on that family vacation in England, where his dear friend D. L. Moody would be preaching.
On November 22, 1873, while crossing the Atlantic on the steamship Ville du Havre, the ship was then struck by an iron sailing vessel, killing 226 people, including all four of Spafford’s daughters: Annie, age 12; Maggie, 7; Bessie, 4; and an 18-month old baby.
His wife, Anna, survived the tragedy. Upon arriving in Cardiff, Wales, she sent a telegram to Spafford that read "Saved alone." Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write It Is Well with My Soul as his ship passed near where his daughters had died.
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.
The tune of this hymn was written by Philip Bliss. It was named after the ship on which the Spafford’s lost their daughters from, Ville du Havre.
