It was wonderful to have a Sunday praising God for who He is and what He has done in our lives and giving thanks to Him for all the blessings He has given us. One hymn we sang this last week was based on an old Swedish poem written by Carl Boberg in 1885. It stated:

When I the world consider, which Thou has made by Thine almighty Word and how the web of life thou wisdom guideth, And all creation feedeth at Thy board. The doth my soul burst forth in song of praise: Oh, great God, oh great God!

Several years later, missionary Stuart Hine heard this poem in Russia. He put it to song and created the verses that we now sing. The three verses were inspired by actual events that happened to Stuart as a missionary in Russia. He ministered in the Carpathian Mountains and was trapped in a thunderstorm in a small mountain village. The second verse was penned because he was inspired by a bird’s melody near the Romanian border. The third verse was based on the Carpathian mountain dwellers coming to Christ, which Stuart witnessed firsthand.

Each time we came to the chorus, it brought a smile to my face as we sang together about how great our God is! We just finished a week of thankfulness, and as we move into the Christmas advent season, I’d like to encourage you to stop and be aware of our God. His ways are not our ways, and they are higher than we can possibly imagine. The birth of Christ is a prime example of this. Why would God, who spoke this world into existence and holds it all together, humble Himself to come and take on flesh to be born of a virgin and to grow in stature and wisdom, only to die on a cross? So He could redeem what was lost. So that the Father would be glorified. He did it to redeem His fallen creation and to restore us to Him so that we may have life and have it to the fullest through Him.

As the snow begins to fall and we look forward to giving and receiving gifts, let us pause to continuously remember to praise the God who has created this winter wonderland and thank Him for the bountiful gifts and blessings He bestows on us. Let us sing a new song of something God has created, and then continue to proclaim, “How Great is our God, How Great is our God!”