Looking Out 2.10.22

The Story Behind “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”

Year after year we sing, “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” yet most people wouldn’t be able to give any detail on who wrote it, or where it came from. Here is the story behind it:

In a Kentucky log cabin Thomas O. Chisholm was born in 1866. Thomas became a schoolteacher at the age of sixteen, and later, became an editor of the Pentecostal Herald in Louisville, Kentucky. At the age of 26, he made one of the most important decisions in his life, accepting Christ as his Lord and Saviour. In 1903, he was officially ordained a minister, but was forced to limit his years of service due to his poor health.

Throughout his life, Thomas wrote hundreds of poems. One such poem, “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” was based in Lamentations 3:22-23: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (ESV). He eventually sent it to a fellow minister and friend, William Runyan who configured a musical setting for the poem. George Beverly Shea was asked to sing the newly configured hymn on the Moody Bible Institute radio station.

Soon after, Billy Graham asked George Shea to sing it as part of his ministry of evangelism. Eventually through the many crusades put on by Billy Graham, the song “Great is Thy Faithfulness” became internationally known.

The core of this hymn is simple, yet it points to the amazing faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. He has been, is, and always will be compassionate and unchanging. In every season, in every aspect of creation, we can bear witness to his everlasting faithfulness. With each new morning that passes by, God brings new mercies, providing everything we need when we need it. Great is God’s never ceasing faithfulness!

Although Thomas Chisholm had suffered under poor health throughout his life, God’s faithfulness was evident to him. God has been faithful in the past, is faithful in the present, and will continue to be faithful till the end of the age.

-Adapted from “Geneva College Blog: Hymnology”

DY.