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.
Holy and immeasurable God, who I have the privilege of calling Heavenly Father, what concept can I have of greatness?
The vastness of the ocean with its unexplored depths remains a mystery to mankind, yet it is not enough to compare to Your greatness.
The unknowable scope of outer space where you have created countless galaxies that spin in fiery order without my knowledge or comprehension is too small to compare to Your greatness.
These images overwhelm my imagination and yet I understand that Your faithfulness is greater still.
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.
What is faithfulness? It is the nature of Your being.
The moon passes from dark to light and back into dark again. I watch my own shadow at sunset and see it lengthen, and change, and thin with my movements.
Not so with You.
You are described as not only the Creator of Light but in my future eternity, when You and I live together in glory even the seemingly eternal and changeless sun will have ceased to be and a light more perfect and sufficient will be supplied by You Yourself. For You Yourself will be the light source in that place. Just as the light You provide will be perfect and eternal, it is but a visible manifestation of Your changeless nature; that same nature that provides changeless grace and compassion though I am undeserving.
For now I live on a line that passes from past to future. In these moments I experience all manner of frailties, sorrows, joys, ecstasies and heartbreaks. The very nature of my daily existence is one of change. My world is fluid and tempestuous. Even on days of stillness my life moves inexorably toward that dark curtain that separates the end of this experience from the beginning of eternal glory. Yet through every sunrise and sunset the unfathomable greatness of Your faithful and unchanging nature gives me sufficient grace and mercy for each moment.
So often I'm selfish. I wail for blessings and gifts and resources that I don't deserve, that I didn't earn. Too often bitterness at perceived loss and missed opportunities darkens my thoughts. When I set aside selfish desires and look at the road behind with faith colored glasses I recognize Your presence and provision in the meeting of every true need.
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.
The seasons march across the globe, obediently following the orders You've given them.
Springtime’s winds herald the approach of his quickening presence. He flies in, all youth and vitality, and fairly dances through the days.. His arrival opens the sleeping bulbs that slumber in the ground. He calls forth the promises of new life that bud the plants. He invites the sleepy and the restless both to raise their arms in praise to You, Holy God.
Summer’s heat sweeps into a world prepared by Spring. Her greening presence opens the parasols of the trees and feeds the hunger awakened across the land. At Your command she thickens the air with pollen to be carried off by wind and wing and plants the wild seeds You have prepared for the future. Seeds that will bear new life to take up Your continuous anthem of praise.
Autumn joins her briefly with his measured march, leading her into sunset and painting her leaves with the horizon’s brilliant colors. As he lays her to rest, he shakes the trees and sends the wild birds on their way to where they can find another summer. He shortens the days and brings to ripe fullness summer’s labor. The plants, the animals, the hills, valleys, and plains themselves sing Your praises, crowding the sky with music and colors and fragrances that gladden the hearts of those who work the harvest.
Winter comes. Hers is a quiet praise. She shrouds the sleeping grass in a white blanket that seeks out sunlight and reflects it back to You in dazzling displays of diamond crusted landscapes. She puts a bite in the air that causes sleepy hearts to seek one another out; to share warmth, love and memories of warmer days. Her cold touch sweetens the promise of spring’s return and all Your children rejoice with her as you shorten her days and lengthen those leading to that promised new beginning.
Truly all the world in its orderly movement and wild praising provides sufficient evidence of Your glory, God. But there’s more.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide. Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!
You made this creation from nothing, but is the greater miracle that you made sons and daughters from broken sinners? A gulf of my own making yawned between You and me. A chasm so great and terrible no power of mine, no fruit of my ingenuity, no device of my making could ever plumb it or cross it. Through my own arrogance and selfishness, a great and terrible blackness with no bottom and no hope separated me from You. What hope could I possibly have as the same march of time that moves seasons and suns moved me toward that black pit?
In my own power I have no hope.
But then you built a beautiful bridge, laying the very body of Your own Son across that chasm. Black flames leapt from the depths, licking at his flesh, but unable to consume Him. His presence forced my own hopelessness down the throat of that great hole and gave to me a deep and settled peace that this Way was secure. This bridge was good and true and no force of angel, mankind or hell itself could ever bring it to ruin or to rot.
Every fear smothered in the unending love of my Savior, Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Every need provided by the presence of Your Holy Spirit living in me and through me.
Not a moment of my life can be robbed by any calamity, as my life is held in Your hands. And when You take it from me in this world, it is simply to draw me across that glorious bridge into Your waiting embrace.
Truly great is Your faithfulness, O God my Father.