God’s Faithfulness

Pause:

Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus.

Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.

Read:

Psalm 86v8-15:

8 Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;
no deeds can compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made
will come and worship before you, Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.
10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
you alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, Lord,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths,
from the realm of the dead.

14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
they have no regard for you.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Going Deeper:

How do we view God? What is our perception of him? What words would we use to describe his nature?

The answer we give to these questions is significant, because our thoughts about who God is deeply impacts our lives and effects how we live. As AW Tozer so eloquently puts it: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us”.

In this present season would we use the words of David from Psalm 86 to describe God? Do we believe him to be compassionate and gracious… abounding in love and faithfulness?

In comfortable and easy times, we do not find it hard to believe that we serve a God who is trustworthy, one who keeps his promises and looks after his people. In good times, we effortlessly praise him as the God who abounds in love and faithfulness, who is gracious and compassionate.

It’s in hardship that these truths are challenged in our hearts and minds. It’s in times of unrest that our image of God is often put to the test. It’s when we find ourselves under pressure that we are made aware of what we truly believe about him, and who he is.

As we find our lives in a season of upheaval, with many things uncertain and unclear, do we believe that in spite of this that God himself does not change, but remains faithful? That he is in fact abounding in faithfulness towards us, trustworthy and reliable? That he can be counted on and will not let us down? That he remains faithful even when we do not?

In a culture that is defined by its' unfaithfulness, we can become used to this as a norm. Human beings are notoriously known to be untrustworthy in their dealings towards one another. When things no longer seem fresh or fun, when they become hard or boring, we tend to bail moving onto the next exciting and easy going thing. We see this in varying degrees in our own lives and the lives of those around us. We can sometimes project these tendencies we experience onto God, but the truth is that God is profoundly different from any human, there is no one like him, no one compares to him. He alone is truly faithful.

He is faithful to the end, no matter the cost. He is ever-present even in the midst of our pain. He never turns his back on his people, he never abandons us. He never breaks his promises to us. He is marked by his commitment to us and unfailing love for us, which is fully displayed through his son Jesus. The cross itself showcases the depth of God’s faithfulness towards us and the truth of who he is. That he can be trusted and depended on.

For many of us though, this raises some questions…

If God is faithful to the end, why do we find ourselves living in these precarious times?

If we can trust God with our lives, why do we find ourselves facing situations that cause us pain?

How do we reconcile God’s faithfulness with the circumstances and difficulties surrounding us?

Often, we look at the promises of God and view them as disconnected from our present realities, because we are confused by what God’s faithfulness towards us looks like and what its implications for our lives are.

We can misinterpret God’s faithfulness as a promise to make our lives easy, free of pain and struggle. And so, when life gets hard, we tend to believe that he is no longer the faithful God we once thought him to be. That he can no longer be trusted.

But we see throughout scripture that God’s promise to us was never a life free from troubles or hardships, but rather a promise that he is with us always and has ultimately overcome these things through the cross.

God’s faithfulness towards us is demonstrated in the sending of his son Jesus, to die for our sins, so that through him we could find forgiveness and reconciliation with God. He showed himself unconditionally faithful to us by doing this for us even whilst we were still enemies of his, having done nothing to deserve his compassion, grace and love. It’s through Jesus that we are “delivered from the depths” and receive the promise of abundant and eternal life in him. It’s through Jesus that God promises to make all things new, so that one day we will know a life free from pain and suffering. It’s through Jesus that God has made a way to be with us always.

It’s as we reflect on God’s faithfulness towards us that we are encouraged to rely on it in hard times, putting our trust in him. It’s his promises and trustworthiness that give us a hope that cannot be taken away. No matter what we face in this life, no matter what happens to us.

As we remind ourselves of his great faithfulness, we can live in freedom instead of fear, trusting and depending on him instead of trying to make our own way through life’s difficulties. We can find security in his promises, placing ourselves in his care, being assured of his steadfast love for us, and of his nearness in times of trouble.

He invites us daily to rest in him and his great faithfulness, trusting in his unfailing love for us in every season of our lives.

Lamentations 3v22-23: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Pray:

Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to your from this passage this morning.

Listen:

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you right now?

Apply:

What are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you from the text and by the Spirit?