Tag Archives: God’s Faithfulness

Looking Forward

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The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

You’re not stuck. You’re not encased in concrete. Your life is not a dead end. The possibility of change has not slipped through your fingers. Change is possible for you and me even in the places where change seems most hopeless. Why? Because the Giver of transformative grace has made you and me the place where he dwells! [1]

On this last day of the year, may we look back and remember the faithfulness of the Lord so that, as we look forward to the mystery and unknown future of 2015, we trust in the One who has proven Himself faithful already. For “The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price … He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” [2]

[1] Paul Tripp, New Morning Mercies [2] Bethany Jenkins, The Park Forum; Revelation 22:17, 20-21

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Always Awake and Always Keeping: God Works for You

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Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved, he who keeps you will not slumber. (Psalm 121:1–3)

Do you need help? I do. Where do you look for help?

Today, I was reminded again that God is the mighty creator over all of our problems. How thankful I am that He never sleeps. God is a tireless worker. He works around the clock to keep our feet from stumbling. God is eager to help and is looking for work to do on our behalf.  “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show his might in behalf of those whose heart is whole toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9) [1]

Whatever hardship we are facing, it is not a surprise for God, however much it may have hijacked us. For the Lord is our keeper. He will keep our life. He will keep our going and our coming in this day and forevermore. I am amazed that God is working for us!

God loves to show his tireless power and wisdom and goodness by working for people who trust him. And why shouldn’t we trust him? He is the unsleeping ever-keeping God.

Mountains and hills

[1] God Works for You, Daily Devotions by John Piper, May 21

The Saturday Assortment #9

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The Saturday Assortment

The Saturday Assortment is a collection of unrelated and random things that I find interesting, challenging, motivating and sometimes quite out of the ordinary. It’s an assortment of meaningful things that caught my attention throughout the week.

Faith and Doubt. Doubt and Faith. Both are present in every believer. I recently shared with a group of friends that I have doubted God’s faithfulness to keep his promise. I have doubted his love for me and his sovereignty. I have doubted God’s word to be true.

I remember that time in my life as very challenging and very depressing, yet has now become the most significant nurturing and building blocks of faith in my life. I had to go to the source that I doubted to find the answers to why I doubted.

God is always faithful even when we are not faithful.  God demonstrates his patience by loving us more and to rescue us with more grace…even when we are not asking for more love and have no idea that we need rescuing from doubt…that’s more grace!

If you are struggling with doubt and faith as I have, the following posts will encourage your faith as you sift out the doubt.

1. I Believe in Doubt by Oz Guinness Just because we have a deep faith in God and in the scriptures, doesn’t mean that we will bypass a struggle with doubt and unbelief.  “Faith is much more than the absence of doubt, but to understand doubt is to have a key to a strong faith, a sound mind, and a quiet heart. Yet more confusions surround doubt than many Christian believers realize.” Here is the link to an article I read from Ligonier Ministries that is very helpful with understanding the good reasons for doubt and how our faith will be made stronger because of it.   http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/i-believe-in-doubt/

2. When Doubt Becomes Unbelief by Alister McGrath When does doubt become unbelief? Answer: When you let it. When you cling to unrealistic ideas about faith, when you get hopelessly preoccupied with the doubts that are a natural part of the Christian life, or when you fail to allow your faith to grow. These pitfalls can all be avoided. Don’t feel ashamed about your doubts. Talking them through with older and wiser Christians can be a vital safety valve which stops a head of doubting steam from building up—a head of steam which could eventually lead from normal doubt to the hopelessness of unbelief.    http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/when-doubt-becomes-unbelief/

A Forever Season of God’s Faithfulness

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Forever Faithful Seasons of Life

Life is a lot like the weather…it’s seasonal. It has a way of pushing us into the next season whether we like it or not.  And the seasons are constantly changing in our home.

Little ones are growing quickly and want a new adventure to experience everyday while our white-haired loved ones do not want anymore adventures…they just want to tell us about the wild ones they had as young adults and the often challenging seasons of life they experienced years gone by. We have experienced loss, brokenness and desperate grief and yet have celebrated the total opposite of all that.

Regardless of your season in life, you can count on God’s faithfulness. God’s faithfulness is a constant in a season of change.

The word faithful can be illustrated by the image of the strong arms of a father that uphold and protect his helpless child. When the word faithful is used with regard to God, it means that He is worthy of absolute trust, and that we can depend upon Him without doubt or reservation. It is important to understand that God is faithful, not because He does everything we want, but because He does everything that He has promised. [1]

The following are ways you can depend on God’s forever season of faithfulness:

A. The character of faithfulness is ascribed to God:

  1. Deuteronomy 7:9 The faithfulness of God keeps covenant and steadfast love…
  2. Deuteronomy 32:4 The God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright…
  3. Hosea 11:12 The Holy One who is faithful…
  4. I Peter 4:19 The faithful creator

B. God is faithful to do all that he has promised:

  1. Psalm 135:5-7 Whatever the Lord pleases, he does…
  2. Isaiah 14:27 For the Lord has purposed…who will annul it?
  3. Ephesians 1:11 We have obtained an inheritance…
  4. Isaiah 54:10 My steadfast love shall not depart from you…

C. Not one word of all the words that God has spoken has failed:

  1. Joshua 23:14 …not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised…
  2. I Kings 8:56 …not one word has failed of all his good promise…
  3. Isaiah 40:8 …the word of God will stand forever.

D. We can trust God to be forever faithful:

  1. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
  2. 2 Timothy 2:13 …if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
  3. Deuteronomy 7:9  Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.
  4. 1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

There are seasons in the lives of all when it is not easy to believe that God is faithful. However, remember this: “Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.” Psalm 36:5

We can look upwards to the stars of night, and see the “faithfulness” of God “established” in the material heavens. Our unfaithfulness to trust never alters the faithfulness of God. [2]

“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8

How are you experiencing God’s faithfulness in your season of life? 

Footnotes

[1] The One True God, Paul Washer │[2] The Faithfulness of God, John Macduff