"Great is Thy Faithfulness" (1923) is a beloved hymn that reminds us of God's steady presence and unchanging nature. It was written by Thomas Obadiah Chisholm, a man whose quiet life and strong faith made a big impact through the words of this beautiful song.

Thomas Chisholm was born in a log cabin in Kentucky in 1866. He had very little formal education, but he became a schoolteacher at the age of 16. Later, he worked as a newspaper editor and eventually became a Christian through a revival led by evangelist Henry Clay Morrison.

Chisholm felt called to ministry and served briefly as a Methodist pastor, but poor health forced him to step down after just one year. For the rest of his life, he struggled with sickness and could never keep a steady job. Yet he continued to trust God’s faithfulness and provision through it all.

In his spare time, Chisholm wrote poems—over 1,200 of them! He often sent them to friends or had them published in Christian magazines. One of these poems, written in 1923, was based on Lamentations 3:22-23, which says:

“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

He sent the poem to his friend William Runyan, a musician who worked for Moody Bible Institute and Hope Publishing Company. Runyan was deeply moved by the words and composed a melody to match. The song quickly grew in popularity, especially after it was embraced by Moody Bible Institute and included in their hymnbooks.

The hymn became even more well-known when it was used by evangelist Billy Graham during his worldwide crusades. Many people have been comforted by its message: that God’s faithfulness never changes, no matter our circumstances.

Thomas Chisholm lived a long life and died in 1960 at the age of 93. He once wrote, “My income has not been large at any time due to impaired health, but I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God.”

This video has 3 parts to it. Choose to just watch the history, or both history and lyrics, and do the whole thing and sing along with him at the end!

00:27 History

02:22 Lyrics

09:45 Performance