When Billy Graham preached to huge audiences, they often sang the
song, “Pass me not, oh Gentle Saviour, hear my humble cry. While on
others Thou art passing, do not pass me by.” The author of that song was
famous Frances Jane Crosby, known as Fanny. She was born on 24 March
1820. Blind at six weeks of age, Fanny began composing texts and poems
at a tender age. She began her studies at age 12 at the New York School
for the Blind, a school where she later served as a teacher. She became
the author of over 8,500 gospel songs and she was a friend of several
presidents, becoming one of the most important advocates for the cause
of the blind in the United States, addressing a session of Congress on the
topic.
Hardships and difficulties did not hinder Fanny on fulfilling the calling God
placed on her life. She wrote, “Blindness cannot keep the sunlight of hope
out…” She wrote that she left all her cares of yesterdays behind and
enjoyed the morning joy. That reminds us of the verse in Psalm 30:5
which states, “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes in the
morning.”
In 1868 Fanny was invited to address prisoners in a state prison where
she heard a prisoner cry out, “Good Lord, do not pass me by!” Fanny
could not forget that strong cry and she wrote 4 verses down of the hymn
“Pass me not, oh Gentle Saviour.”
Fanny’s hymns and life depict that when we have joy, we can be content
even during difficult times. Paul talks about this in Philippians 4:11-12
when he says, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I
have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
May our lives also reflect the joy of Jesus, and that no matter what
storms might strike us during 2024, our Lord remains with us when the
waves of troubles, doubts or uncertainties arise. I end with the last 2
verses of Fanny’s “Pass me not…” hymn –
“Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face.
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace.
Thou the spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me,
Whom have I on earth beside Thee,
Whom in Heav’n but Thee.”
Blessed, most precious Abba Father, thank You that YOU are my joy, my
strength, and my song. Help me to stay focused on You, not only when
difficulties appear, but also throughout daily circumstances, to realise
freshly each day that “joy comes in the morning.” Help me to forget the
old things that worry or incumber me, but rather to rest in Your daily love
and generosity. Amen
Myrtle Turunen