Our God Is Faithful, So Trust Him!

Our God Is Faithful, So Trust Him!

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23 RSV)

DEFINITIONS

The dictionary defines "faithful" as "true or trustworthy in the performance of duty, the fulfillment of promises or obligations, etc; constant", and as "worthy of belief or confidence".

GOD DOES NOT CHANGE

"I the Lord do not change." (Malachi 3:6).

Moses prayed, "Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God" (Psalm 90:1-2). He is God "from everlasting to everlasting" (Nehemiah 9:5; see also Psalms 41:13, 106:48, 144:13; Isaiah 40:28; Jeremiah 10:10; Daniel 4:3, 6:26). He sits "enthroned forever" (Psalm 102:12). "Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and your dominion endures through all generations" (Psalm 145:13; see Lamentations 5:19). (Unless otherwise indicated, all Scriptures are from the New International Version and any emphasis has been added.)

God is "I am" (Exodus 3:14). He always is. He is before the physical universe was created, he is now, and he is after heaven and earth will have passed away (see Matthew 24:35). He "inhabits eternity" (Isaiah 57:15 NKJV). "I am the Alpha and the Omega... who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8). He is the "everlasting Father" (Isaiah 9:6).

God's character does not change. "I the Lord do not change" (Malachi 3:6). With him "there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17 KJV). Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

God's truth does not change. "The word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8). Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Matthew 24:35).

God's purposes do not change. "The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations" (Psalm 33:11). God "wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised" (Hebrews 6:17).

The Psalmist wrote, "In the beginning you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same and your years will never end" (Psalm 102:25-27).

I find this tremendously reassuring. In a world which is uncertain, and constantly changing, God does not change. He remains the same. In a quicksand, there is one solid rock on which we can stand and to which we can hold. That rock will always be there and it will always be solid. Scripture often speaks of God as a rock. He is "the Rock eternal" in whom we can trust (Isaiah 26:4). "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer; my God is my rock in whom I take refuge" (Psalm 18:2;

Because God is eternal and does not change, we can build our lives on him and have a sure foundation. The circumstances of our life, human institutions and philosophies, and even the physical universe, are impermanent. If we base our life on them we are not secure. Only God and his truth are eternal and sure. "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18; see also Colossians 3:1-2; Hebrews 12:2).

"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" (Jeremiah 32:27; see Genesis 18:14). Job said, "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted" (Job 42:2). "Nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37)). "With God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26; see Mark 9:23). God declares "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand" (Isaiah 14:24;

I believe one of the meanings of God's name, "I Am" is that he is always there, and he always has what we need. Indeed, one of the names for God is Jehovah-Shammah, the God who is there (Ezekiel 48:35).

God is there even in our most difficult times. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4). "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you" (Isaiah 43:2). God is our ever-present help in trouble. When we are in trouble, he is there to help us. A beautiful example of this is found in Daniel chapter 3. The three Hebrew youths were thrown into a fiery furnace because they refused to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's golden image. The King looked into the flames and said , "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God" (Daniel 3:25 KVJ). God did not keep them from the fire, but his Son was with them and protected them from harm. The Book of Lamentations was written at one of the lowest points in the history of the people of Israel. The ten northern tribes had been conquered by the Assyrians and scattered throughout the Assyrian empire; and now Jerusalem had been destroyed by Babylon and many of its people taken into captivity in Babylon. Much of the book is weeping over what had happened, but in the midst of his weeping the prophet could affirm that "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23 RSV).

GOD'S LOVE DOES NOT CHANGE

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." (Psalm 100:5).

"God is love" (1 John 4:16). He is "abounding in love and faithfulness" (Psalm 86:15). On Mt. Sinai he passed in front of Moses and declared that he is "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin" (Exodus 34:6).

God's love is universal. He is "loving toward all he has made" (Psalm 145:13). "He so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son" that we could be saved and have eternal life (John 3:16). He does not want "anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). He "wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). His promise to Abraham was that "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3).

God shows his love especially to those who are his people. He chose the nation of Israel to be his special people, "because the Lord loved you" (Deuteronomy 7:8), "because you are precious and honored in my sight and because I love you" (Isaiah 43:4). "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3).

Scripture says over and over that God's love for his people never fails, his love is unfailing. It is very difficult for us to "grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love oChrist, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:18-19)

GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES

"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" (Numbers 23:19).

God is a God of covenant. Although he is sovereign and all-powerful, he commits himself to his people in an "everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:7, 19;

God is truth (John 14:6, 17:17; Romans 1:25). Truth is part of his essential nature. He does not lie, or deceive, or play tricks on us. God does not lie.

God has given us "everything we need for life and godliness". By his "very great and precious promises" he has made it possible for us to "participate in the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:3-4).

I can best summarize all that I have been trying to say, and bring this to a close, with the marvelous words of Paul,

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:31-39).

Celebrating God’s Faithfulness

From Radio Shine’s Praise and Share Edition

Steve White - Host

A wise man once said that the proof of the durability of Christianity is not how steep the race is, but how long. I have found that to be true. It is not how persuasively we win the argument about the nature of truth, but what works when we put it into practice, what endures because it is based on revelation and what is fluff. In my estimation, the most remarkable, most powerful, but most simple, truth is that God is real and that he is faithful to His children. That is why Christianity works. Christians should be the most positive people in the world. Celebration of His reality and faithfulness has the latent capacity to act as a gigantic magnet to draw others to him. It is time to respond to skepticism and pervasive negativity by celebrating God’s faithfulness, deliberately, consciously, joyfully and very publicly.

When you are a child, the future is all potential. When the hair turns grey and the decade milestones come and go there are moments to reflect on what actually took place. As I look back, I know God has always been there. He has provided everything I have needed (not necessarily all that I wanted or demanded). I have sensed His presence with me, even in times of loneliness and the loss of loved ones (Christians face grief and loss like everyone else, but we know God is with us at those times). The Bible tells us there is a time and a season for everything. The strongest Christian will face life and death, health and sickness, abundance and lack, some experiences that build up and others that seem to demolish possessions and plans. Things will not always go well. Job observed that God sometimes allows seemingly bad things to happen (Job 2:10). There is no sense living in denial. Christians are not immune from the highs and lows of relationships and personal feelings about circumstances. It is in looking back that we can evaluate the totality of what has gone before and see the hand of God upholding and His Spirit sustaining us (Psalm 139). As Jesus reminded us, God is a God of the living, of the “now”.

God is able to do more than we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). He says, “If you call on me I will answer you.” (Jeremiah 33:3; Psalm 50:15). Friends care, but they are limited. There are many things they simply cannot do to help, even if they are available and disposed to do so. On the other hand, God will not allow us to be removed (Psalm 55:22). Nothing can take us out of His hand (John 10:28-29). He has promised us “rest” (Matthew 11:28). We can trust him with our all, as a lifestyle choice. We know that he makes everything that happens in our circumstances work for good (Romans 8:28) and he is able to keep us from falling (1 Corinthians 1:8, 9; Jude 24).

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Problems are a part of life, but God does not abandon us because we get into fixes. He does not destroy his servants. Even when we feel he is squeezing us, to produce change, we can still affirm that we trust Him with our lives. When faced with unusual or trying circumstances, Biblical faith says, “This has a purpose” (Job 23:10). Too many people opt for a form of Christian fatalism, directly or indirectly blaming God for allowing events to occur. It is easy to be cemented to our setbacks, but this is not God’s way. The Bible repeatedly calls him the “God of hope”. He is faithful when Christians suffer persecution, when a friend dies at the hands of an assailant, when abuse occurs, when financial problems appear overwhelming, when a sickness is not healed, when a friend is killed in a car accident, when Christians perish in a tsunami? It is assuring to know He has a purpose. Life is not a tiny blip of nothingness in the cosmos. Life IS God. His purpose is always to build something that will last for eternity.

Are we really convinced that God cares, that he is able and trustworthy? Do we live as though that confidence is real? Is it right or wrong to query God’s faithfulness? There is no sense pretending. He can always remove a trial, if he desires, but sometimes he chooses not to do so. Paul asked three times for a particular trial to be lifted, but was told God’s grace was enough. Only our heavenly father knows what is really in our hearts when we react against what is going on in our lives. I believe we can ask for an explanation about what is happening without judging God (Romans 9:19-21). When we regularly and actively celebrate God’s faithfulness as part of our lives, we won’t be so quick to jump to conclusions and think God has let us down when things do not work out the way we want. God is faithful.

There are many ways in which Christians experience God’s faithfulness. These include his presence in times of suffering; His strength in times of temptation; His faithfulness in showing us how to live wisely in all our human relationships, through His Word and His people; His faithfulness in avenging those who suffer for him. The bottom line is that we can trust him with our lives and know He has our good at heart (this is what Satan failed to realize when he mistakenly thought Job’s reaction to suffering would be to curse God to His face, cf Job 1:11; 2:5). The fact is, he has a purpose (cf Job 23:10). It is not enough to say, “God knows” when circumstances are beyond our control. That can imply that He is aware but indifferent. Some things happen by divine permission and we never work them out objectively. However, there is always a bottom line. David said that he had never seen the righteous going without. In times of trouble (and he had lots of those), he kept reminding himself that God was his refuge and help (Ps 46:1, 2). That can be our experience as well.

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God shows his faithfulness by putting us in relationships, such as families; or providing experienced Christians as leaders and mentors to care for us spiritually. (Hebrews 13:17). Whatever happens, He is described as a father looking after his family, caring for the vulnerable, a pastor overseeing his sheep (Psalm 23). Even the deaths of his people are “precious” in his sight “

Psalm 116:15). (Ps.41:3, Isa.63:9, John 11:3, 2Cor. 12:9, Phil.4:13, 2Cor.4:16,

Acts 17:28, Isa.40:29-31, Deut.33:27)

He is faithful, even in death!

DEATH~
WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO EXPLAIN IT .

A sick man turned to his doctor as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, 'Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side.' Very quietly, the doctor said, 'I don't know..' 'You don't know? You're, a Christian man, and don't know what's on the other side?' The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness. Turning to the patient, the doctor said, did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, And when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing... I know my Master is there and that is enough.' May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.

May His peace be within you today because…..HE IS FAITHFUL!

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