And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:9-10 KJV
While Thanksgiving weekend is a big date on most of our calendars, life at the nursing home stays pretty much the same. Sure, there is a big inflatable turkey behind me, and they served a special lunch yesterday, but few of the residents received visits from family members and fewer still have even been outside in months. But, just like those shepherds, who were overlooked by everyone else, God is sending them His message, that Jesus Christ has come down, right where we are. He came to give His life, so that we could have our sins forgiven and be restored to a loving relationship with our Father in Heaven. So, let’s “Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere!”
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV
I love singing “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, when I sense the peace and contentment of God’s care at Thanksgiving, Yet, both the writer of Lamentations as well as Thomas Chisolm, the hymn writer, were going through difficulties and trials when they wrote these words. They remind us that if rejoicing in God’s faithfulness, has to wait for everything be going right, then we would be an ungrateful people much of the time. But today’s verse and the hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, draw their power from the triumph of God’s grace when everything is going wrong. While composing these lyrics, Thomas Chisolm suffered from such ill health that he was forced to leave the pastoral ministry, and he wrote the lyrics as a poem, reflecting his trust in God in spite of his problems. Later, he sent his friend William Runyan, the poem and Runyan when on to write the melody we sing today. In the Bible, the prophet Jeremiah tells us of God’s great faithfulness and love after his nation had been conquered, Jerusalem lay in ruins, and Solomon’s temple had been robbed of its treasures. With nothing left to show for the centuries of Israel’s glory, power and success, Jeremiah finds the steadfast love and mercy of God are an unshakeable hope that is new every morning. So, whatever you are facing this Thanksgiving, allow God to gently remind you that His mercies never fail, they are new every morning, because His faithfulness and love will never come to an end!
When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends. James 1:2 J. B. Phillips
All of us want grace, yet few of us enjoy experiencing the desperate need that drives us to ask God for it. I rarely stray from the more literal translations, but I loved the way that J. B. Phillips captures for us the essence of the message the apostle James in this passage. I have discovered that finding grace is often not simply about either thanking God for blessings or enduring difficulty, but it is about the way with which I greet them. Lately the lyrics of “He Giveth More Grace”, written by Annie Johnson Flint, more than a century ago, have been playing on a constant loop within my heart. Though Annie was a brilliant and God-fearing woman, her life was filled with difficulties right from the start. When Annie was just three, her mother passed away while giving birth. Then a few years later, her father also died, though not before giving her up for adoption to a young Christian couple who were friends of the family. Annie came to faith in Christ early in life, and things were looking up as she went on to begin a career as a teacher. But an early onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis, brought suffering into her universe and her adopted family sent Annie, her sister and some cousins on a trip to Switzerland, in hopes that the climate might do her good. Yet after a brief and blessed time of rejuvenation and strength, Annie came down with a fever and was diagnosed with Typhoid. Though she did ultimately recover, the disease left its toll. Yet, in spite of these fiery trials, rather than her experiences leaving Annie feeling defeated, it was during this time that she, began to write the words to today’s hymn:
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greatest
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase
To added affliction He addeth His mercies
To multiplied trials His multiplied peace!
His love has no limit
His grace has no measure
His power has no boundaries
Known unto men
And out of His infinite
Riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth
And giveth again!
Like the Apostle James, Annie had learned that the trials, which came her way, instead of being harbingers of failure, were actually friends, bringing with them God’s unending grace and strength. I do hope you will enjoy our rendition of this hymn. My friends at Watermark Assisted Living know more of what it means to lean on God’s grace than most of us and it was a real blessing getting to sing it with them.
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