Tuesday, December 5

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

When I went one day to my parent’s home to help take my mother to the doctor, she met me trying to remember the words of this hymn.  It was one that we knew, but not as familiar as some.  We spent the time trying to put the verses in order, but we were not very successful.  We did, however, spend the time, what can sometimes be a nervous doctor’s trip, giving God the glory.  When I got back home I looked up the hymn and made a copy of it for my mom.  The next time I saw her, we read the words and also found some history about how it was used and the author, all the time giving God the glory.

Fanny Crosby is who wrote this hymn.  She was blinded by a doctor’s mistake from a very young age.  Thankfully, her parents trusted God and they did not become angry or bitter, instead, gave God the glory.  They taught her to take care of herself and play outdoors with the other children.  More importantly, her grandmother read to her long passages of the Bible everyday.  Fanny developed a great love for poetry and she filled all her time writing verses.  By the time she was twenty, Fanny was famous throughout New York and a sought-after speaker for poetry recitations and official ceremonies.  It was during this time that Fanny knew something was missing from her life and she went to the altar and gave her heart to Jesus.  She is quoted to have said “For the first time I realized that I had been trying to hold the world in one hand and the Lord in the other.”  To God be the glory, finally the God of her grandmother had become real to her.  Immediately, her poetry reflected her change of heart, and songs of praise took the place of regular poems.

This brings us back to today’s hymn in which we find Fanny praising God and giving Him the glory for this new birth.  Her words show that she knew it was all from Jesus.  She also knew that even she, a young blind girl, was that vilest offender because she was trying to hold onto self and Jesus.  But, there is much praising throughout this hymn because she knows the “great things He hath taught us and great things He hath done.” 

Now, when we go about our days, are our hearts and minds filled with thoughts of Jesus, or are we trying to hold the world in one hand and Jesus in the other?  Are we trusting God with all our hearts and all our minds, or are we giving ourselves the glory in the way we act and speak? Like Fanny, God has put each one of us in hard situations, how are we going to act?  Praising or complaining?  Take time to ponder each and every word of this hymn today, and let go of the hand that is clinging to yourself and take both hands and grab hold of Jesus and never let go.  Your life will change!  To God be the Glory!  Galatians 1:3-5 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen

~ Debbie Frantz