Have you ever heard of Fanny J. Crosby? Fanny was a hymn writer and poet who wrote over 8,000 hymns! A very short list of the most popular hymns written by Fanny would include such great hymns as “To God Be the Glory”, “I Am Thine, O Lord”, “Tell Me the Story of Jesus”, “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross”, and “All the Way My Savior Leads Me”.
You may be surprised to learn the Fanny was totally blind. She lost her sight when she was only six weeks old through the negligence of a doctor who was treating an inflammation in her eyes. Because she was blind, I am sure that many times Fanny heard the words, “You can’t do this” or “You can’t do that.” One reason I feel sure she heard those words is that she once wrote a song entitled, “Never Give Up!” The words to the refrain of that song go like this:
“Never give up, never give up. Never give up to thy sorrows. Jesus will bid them depart.
Trust in the Lord. Sing when your trials are greatest. Trust in the Lord and take heart.”
Fanny never gave up! “Blindness,” she wrote, “cannot keep the sunlight of hope from the trusting soul.” Fanny had great faith in God and put her trust in him to get her through the obstacles she faced in her life. She never gave up!
The church, at times, forgets that this is also God’s message. God has promised to never give up on us.
¨ Adam and Eve disobeyed, but God never gave up.
¨ Abraham wandered and Sarah laughed, but God never gave up.
¨ Moses hid and shook with fear, but God never gave up.
¨ Saul went insane, but God never gave up.
¨ David plotted against Uriah, but God never gave up.
¨ Ahaz sold out to Assyria, but God never gave up.
¨ Israel fell into pieces, but God never gave up.
¨ The Jewish people became exiles, but God never gave up.
¨ John the Baptist was beheaded, but God never gave up.
¨ Peter denied he even knew him, but God never gave up.
¨ Thomas doubted, but God never gave up.
¨ The Jewish religious leaders rejected Christ as the Messiah, but God never gave up.
¨ The disciples all ran away, but God never gave up.
The Lenten season reminds us that no matter how rough we have it, no matter how difficult our days seem to be, we should never give up, for there is something good that we can do for God today. Jesus died for you because He believed in you.
The heart of the good news of the Gospel is the fact that God will never give up on you.
Pastor Mark