Showers of Blessings - Patricia Jordan

I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. Ezekiel 34:26 NKJV

Major D. W. Whittler, the writer of the hymn, Showers of Blessings, had been through some storms and hardships, yet he wrote many beloved hymns.

In 1861, he married Abbie Hanson. They were active members of the Chicago Tabernacle. The day after their wedding, he joined the Union Army and served under General Sherman.

During the siege on Vicksburg in 1863, he was shot in his right arm, which then had to be amputated. After that, the army sent him back to Chicago but did not discharge him. By war’s end, he had been promoted to the rank of major by General Sherman. 

Upon returning home from the war, Whittler secured employment at the Elgin Clock Company. He and his wife, Abbie, become parents. Their family routine included being active at the Chicago Tabernacle. Neither their separation, his arm amputation, nor any other trials they experienced weakened their faith in God.

The evangelist D. L. Moody, also a member of the Tabernacle, asked Whittler to join his evangelism team. Moody and his team traveled a lot, so they weren’t at home for weeks on end. While traveling with Moody’s team, Whittler began writing hymns that were set to music by the pianist. From the 1870s to the 1890s, he wrote over two hundred beautiful hymns. He gave his time and talent for God to use, and we are still blessed by those hymns to this day.

Singing that sweet old hymn and other treasured hymns refreshes and strengthens me in my Christian walk. It can do the same for any of us. 

No matter what we’re going through, God desires to shower us with blessings. This is His promise to us, and He always keeps His promises. We may not see those blessings immediately, but in God’s timing, we will receive them.

Take a few moments today to name some blessings that God has showered on you. Doing this will keep your joy renewed and refreshed.

Dear Lord, help me to use my time wisely and only pursue that which brings me closer to you. In Jesus’s name, amen.

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