Our God Is Faithful!

"Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God (El Emunah), keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments."
                                                      Deuteronomy 7:9


In this rapidly changing world in which we live, there is one constant and unchanging truth that we can literally take to the bank, and that is that our God is faithful and forever will be. We experience His faithfulness in greater measures the more we get to know  Him. Since He never changes, we can look back over the centuries and see that His faithfulness has continued throughout the generations. As we remember His love and mercy for us personally, we see a pattern emerge that speaks to the consistency and loyalty of His covenant in our lives. He is faithful, no matter what happens in this world or even how unfaithful His people may be.

The Hebrew word that is translated to "faithfulness" means "steadfastness, firmness, and fidelity". Oftentimes this faithfulness is attributed to God's Word. That is because no matter how long ago His words may have been written, they are still true for us today. His promises will forever be applicable to us because the very essence of His words are truth.

When God gave the commandments to the Jewish people, they took them so literally that they put little portions of Scripture into containers called phylacteries and placed them on their foreheads and left arms (Matthew 23:5). They also attached a small container of Scripture, called a mezuzah, to the front door and on every door in the house. Every time they passed through a doorway, they touched the mezuzah reverently as a sign that their house was a sanctuary for the Lord and a place where the Word of God is loved, obeyed, and taught.

In this time and in this culture, often we lose the importance and significance of these truths that have been revered historically. We become so immersed in the falsehoods of  our day that we forget that God will never change and can never lie. We may overlook the fact that God has never failed in the past (Isaiah 51:6) and that He was always true to His Word. If He said He would do something, He always followed through on what He said He would do.

We can trust His character even when we do not understand His timing or His actions.  He is sovereign, holy, and always good. These truths will never change no matter how chaotic our world may become. We get to know Him better by studying His Word, meditating on what He has done in our lives, and learning to follow His voice.

We can trust God's future faithfulness by remembering His past faithfulness in our lives.  It requires intentionality to remember all of the ways God has provided for us in the past, and answered our prayers, and delivered us from the things that have come against us. We can reminisce about how He worked things together for our good when circumstances seemed to scream the opposite. Confidence will arise as we rehearse all the good that God has woven into our lives and families, even at times when it didn't even seem possible.

God will give us confirmations of His faithfulness inn our lives. He can confirm through: His Word, other people, circumstances, and through the Holy Spirit who resides within us. We can learn to drown out other competing voices that would seek to derail us from the purposes of God in our lives. Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice; I know them and they follow Me" (John 10:27).

It requires faith on our part to continue to trust God more deeply when the circumstances in our lives seem out of kilter. Faith is trusting God even before we see how He is going to work things out for us. Faith is standing on His Word and on His promises. As we witness Him bringing His promises to fulfillment in our lives, our trust in His faithfulness will grow.

We can trust Him:
                                In the midst of an illness
                               
                               With a Prodigal Child

                               When Others Betray Us

                               In a Troubled Marriage
   
                              When Our future is Uncertain

                              In Distressing Times
      
                              In Times of Need
                  
                              With Career Changes

                              In Times of Transition

                              In Hardships, Trials, and Affliction

                              In Major Life Changes

                              And, in anything else that this world may throw at us!


God's faithfulness will change us. George Macdonald said, "God's finger can touch nothing but to mold it into loveliness." We are transformed as we experience His protection, provision, love, and power in and around us. We are made new as we see God show up and deliver us, especially when we realize that it is completely undeserved.

God is faithful because He is love. He doesn't just love us, His very nature and essence are love. Demonstrating His love for us actually brings Him glory. He lavishes us with His sacrificial love, not because we deserve it, but because this is who He is. Faithfulness is the natural extension of the character of God who loves us extravagantly and unconditionally.

When we walk in faith and are faithful in return, this shows God that we are trustworthy. Especially in the times in which we live, God seeks out those in the earth who will be trustworthy to Him. For, there is no limit to what God can do if He finds one who is faithful and can be trusted.

Whether or not any of us are trustworthy, though, God still will be because He is good! His plans for us are good and they will prevail. When we continue to look to Him as the Author and Finisher of our faith, we know that He understands us better than we understand ourselves and that what He allows in our lives are the constructs for a beautiful story. Though the plot twists may be harrowing at times, He is always working on our behalf and, in the end, we will be eternally grateful for every part of our narrative. That is because our God is faithful!!!!


                               "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us."
                                                              St. Augustine