One of my all-time favorite hymns is “Blessed Assurance,” by Fanny Crosby.
Fanny Crosby was a Methodist. She was born in the year 1820. She wrote over 8,000 hymns during her lifetime. The amazing thing is that she was blind nearly all of her life, after six weeks of age. She was well known all around the United States, visiting with presidents, generals and other famous people. She even played one of her hymns at the state funeral for President Grant in New York City.
Some of her hymns include: “All The Way My Savior Leads Me,” “Jesus is Tenderly Calling Thee Home,” “I Am Thine, O Lord,” “Near the Cross,” “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior,” “Rescue the Perishing,” “Tell Me The Stories of Jesus,” “To God Be the Glory.”
Concerning her blindness, she once said, “It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all of my life, and I thank him for that dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow, I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me.”
Isn’t that amazing? Despite her handicap and through her handicap God blessed the lives of untold numbers of people.
Are you struggling with a handicap today? A setback? A disappointment? Think about Fanny Crosby, and remember the great difference that faith in God can really make.