God is faithful.
As David testifies, "For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness (loyal love) is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations."
"The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice; righteous and upright is He!"
As the writer of Hebrews tells us, when we are faithless, "He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself."
Simply put, our God always--now and forever, keeps His promises. Sometimes in times of difficulty, I question His faithfulness, but that's usually because I've lost sight of the cross, of my unworthiness, and that He has promised to discipline me so that I will quit relying on my own strength and live by faith in who He is--the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. And His rewards are eternal. God's faithfulness does not mean that we will live a life free of difficulty and storms; in fact, it means just the opposite. But in the storms, He will never leave me or forsake me. He in faithfulness disciplines every son and daughter because His love is pure, righteous, just, and loyal. In the earthquakes of life He is The Rock, our Rock--steadfast, immovable.
And we, too, must exhibit faithfulness at all times. "The fruit of the Spirit is . . . faithfulness." We must be people who keep our promises--faithful even when others are faithless. We must consistently live lives of obedience, lives that say to those that are watching, "we believe in the promises of our God." We must be people of loyal love, justice, righteous and upright. Jesus condemned the Pharisees because they ignored the "weightier provisions of the law--justice and mercy and faithfulness."
In total reliance on the Spirit, faithfulness prays, like Habakkuk, "though all is lost, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." Faithfulness prays, like Paul, "I will do those things that reflect--"imitate"--His heart in such a way that you can imitate me." Faithfulness prays, like the wise disciple, "in the difficult storms of life, I will live a life of obedience, standing firmly on the promises of the Rock of my Salvation." Faithfulness prays, like James, "I will care for the widows and orphans; I will not use my tongue to destroy others; I will be a man or woman of my word--my 'yes" will mean 'yes,' my 'no' will mean 'no'; I will live a life that affirms through my obedience that I am a useful, genuine member of the people of God."
Faithfulness proclaims in all circumstances, "I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever; to all generations I will make known Thy faithfulness with my mouth."
There are some lines in that little chorus we used to sing that perhaps sums up faithfulness best: "Though none go with me, still I must follow; though none go with me, still I must follow; though none go with me, still I must follow; no turning back, no turning back."--even if the "none" are those we love with all our hearts.
One of the greatest testimonies that we are trusting in the faithfulness of the one God who always keeps His promises is our life of faithfulness to Him--lives of obedience, integrity, justice, righteousness, loyal love, and praise.
And we, too, must exhibit faithfulness at all times. "The fruit of the Spirit is . . . faithfulness." We must be people who keep our promises--faithful even when others are faithless. We must consistently live lives of obedience, lives that say to those that are watching, "we believe in the promises of our God." We must be people of loyal love, justice, righteous and upright. Jesus condemned the Pharisees because they ignored the "weightier provisions of the law--justice and mercy and faithfulness."
In total reliance on the Spirit, faithfulness prays, like Habakkuk, "though all is lost, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." Faithfulness prays, like Paul, "I will do those things that reflect--"imitate"--His heart in such a way that you can imitate me." Faithfulness prays, like the wise disciple, "in the difficult storms of life, I will live a life of obedience, standing firmly on the promises of the Rock of my Salvation." Faithfulness prays, like James, "I will care for the widows and orphans; I will not use my tongue to destroy others; I will be a man or woman of my word--my 'yes" will mean 'yes,' my 'no' will mean 'no'; I will live a life that affirms through my obedience that I am a useful, genuine member of the people of God."
Faithfulness proclaims in all circumstances, "I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever; to all generations I will make known Thy faithfulness with my mouth."
There are some lines in that little chorus we used to sing that perhaps sums up faithfulness best: "Though none go with me, still I must follow; though none go with me, still I must follow; though none go with me, still I must follow; no turning back, no turning back."--even if the "none" are those we love with all our hearts.
One of the greatest testimonies that we are trusting in the faithfulness of the one God who always keeps His promises is our life of faithfulness to Him--lives of obedience, integrity, justice, righteousness, loyal love, and praise.
"Lord Jesus, keep me faithful--no matter what."
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