Celebrating Fanny Crosby

She couldn’t see the world around her, but Fanny Crosby saw God more clearly than most.

Born in 1820, Fanny became blind just six weeks after birth due to a medical mishap. But rather than let that define her, she found her identity in Christ. She once said, “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 beauty of the world.”

Fanny’s gift was her pen, and she used it to write over 8,000 hymns in her lifetime. “Blessed Assurance,” “To God Be the Glory,” “Rescue the Perishing,” and “Safe in the Arms of Jesus” are just a few of the songs that poured from her heart to the church pews of America and beyond.

But she didn’t write for recognition. In fact, many of her hymns were published under pseudonyms so hymnals wouldn’t be filled with just one name. For Fanny, the spotlight belonged to Jesus.

She was also a voice for justice. A passionate advocate for the poor, the forgotten, and the addicted, Fanny spent time in New York’s rescue missions, often sharing the gospel and listening to those in pain. Her hymns gave hope to souls who felt unseen because she knew what it was like to be overlooked.

Fanny Crosby died in 1915 at the age of 94. Her tombstone bears the words of one of her most beloved hymns: “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.”

She was blind, but she saw eternity and helped millions of others lift their eyes toward it too.

Join us this month, on-air and online, during Christian Heritage Month on BRIGHT-FM as we journey through history and celebrate the rich legacy of those who answered God’s call.