Faithful

I have a particular pet peeve – when someone tells me that he/she is going to do something and they don’t do it. Back in my single days I was especially annoyed with people who told me they would call. Then they never did. In fact, I wrote a song about it – it annoyed me that much. I expected them to call me. I planned my time around their phone calls. A few years later I finally got clued in to the fact that people don’t always do what they say they will do. A few years after that I realized that I was one of those people.

You know, God is ENTIRELY not like that. When God says He will do something, He WILL do it. You can bet your life on it. The part about God’s faithfulness that people don’t understand is that it probably won’t be according to their timetable or occur in the way they had hoped or anticipated. That’s when people start to doubt God’s faithfulness. If you have spent any time reading the Word, you’ve clearly seen that God’s faithfulness is a prominent thread connecting Old Testament stories and prophecy to the songs of Psalmists to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the apostles as they spread the gospel. Those Israelites wandering in the wilderness following their Egyptian captivity wondered, I’m sure, if God was really a faithful God. I think that’s why one of the major themes throughout the book of Deuteronomy is not only to obey but to remember. All they had to do was to look back and they would realize that there was never a time when God wasn’t faithful. Likewise, Paul could have that kind of confidence in God because he knew that God was faithful. And although the Philippians seemed faithful in their duties as believers, Paul’s confidence in their sanctification was in God alone.

The work that God was doing in the lives of the Philippians is the same work he is doing in the lives of every believer. Our faithful and loving God is sustaining us in this life where the enemy seeks to destroy us or in the least, thwart us. Not only is our Father sustaining us by His grace and strength, but He is also nourishing us and equipping us for the tasks He has called us to. I believe that God’s desire for those whom He has called to Himself is to see them through to the very end. He loves us dearly!

This brings up an interesting point. God did not make us into robots. He doesn’t control what we do, although He very well could, but He chooses not to. We have freedom and autonomy in a sense, and with that comes responsibility. God can hold a spoonful of His Word to the mouths of our hearts, but we need to open our mouths. He can hand us the armor that we need in our daily battles, but we have to put it on. In other words, just don’t sit there (and stare at our gracious God), do something!

Our road is not an easy one to travel. Yet God is at work and there is a glorious end in sight – when Jesus returns in all of His glory, majesty, and splendor – the King of kings and Lord of lords! He will complete that good work of salvation.

I don’t know where you’re at in your belief in God’s faithfulness. If you are in any way struggling to believe that God is faithful, step back and look at your past. When has He not been faithful? Remember. Remember His faithfulness so that you’re not tempted to doubt it when He seems silent. Remember so that you can proclaim the faithfulness of God to others, whether they be your parents, children, friends, co-workers – whomever. Remember so that you won’t forget to praise God for who He is. Great is His faithfulness.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless

Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior, who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.
(Jude 24 & 25)