A Hymn for Leftovers

We had lots of family visit for Thanksgiving and eighteen of us joined the feast.

And guess what? There are still leftovers!

The same God who provided leftovers in the feeding of the four thousand AND the feeding of the five thousand still gives us leftovers today.

Leftovers, of course, are just of the many, many ways God shows His generosity toward us.

How well we can identify with Thomas Chisholm’s words “Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!”

Let’s continue to give thanks through the rest of the holiday season and beyond by taking a closer look at this "hymn for leftovers."

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

by  Thomas Chisholm, 1923

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!

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. 

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! 

Hymn Background: 

Hymn writer Thomas Chisholm was born in a log cabin in Kentucky in 1866. He educated himself and became a school teacher at the age of 16 and became a newspaper editor at the age of 21.

Not long after he was born again -- at age 27 -- Thomas penned the lyrics to "Oh, To Be Like Thee".

Thirty years later, at age 57 -- Thomas penned "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" -- possibly his most famous hymn among his 800 published poems.