Great Is Your Faithfulness - May 2023
The God we serve has many characteristics, all of which make him great. God is love. God is our protector. God provides for us. God heals us. God comforts us. God brings us joy. (Psalm 16:11) With all of these wonderful characteristics, my all time favorite characteristic of God is His faithfulness.
The Oxford dictionary defines the word faithful as, "remaining loyal and steadfast." When we think of faithfulness in the Bible, it stems from a place of trust and loyalty. (Abraham, 2016) The Israelites were able to count on God to deliver them from slavery. (Exodus 12:31 - 42) God stood with Gideon and led him to victory over the Midianite army. (Judges 7) God remained with King David, despite his sin against God. (2 Samuel 11-12, Psalm 51) God never left the side of his servant Job. (Job 1-42) God in human form (Jesus) saved souls, healed the sick (Luke 5 18-25), and gave hope to the multitudes (The Sermon on the Mount; Matthew 5-7). God's ultimate show of faithfulness to us came when he fulfilled his promise of sending a Savior to deliver the world from sin (Luke 2, Matthew 27 - 28).
As you can see, God is many things, especially faithful. It is important that we not only receive the faithfulness of God, but we strive to be faithful to him as well. We should be faithful in our prayer life. We should be faithful in developing relationships with other believers. We should be faithful in helping to build the kingdom of God. We should be faithful in sharing the good news about Jesus.
If you have never taken a deep dive into the faithfulness of God, I encourage to do so. You can start by researching scriptures about faithfulness. Here are a few that I tend to reference often:
"Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and my your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful." (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)
"O Lord God of Heavens armies, where is there anyone as mighty as you O Lord? You are entirely faithful." (Psalm 89:8)
"He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ Returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says and he has invited you into partnership with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:8-9)
"If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is." (2 Timothy 2:11-13)
"The steadfast love of the Lord endures forever; his mercies never come to an end. They are made new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness!" (Lamentations 3:22-23)
There is no shortage of reasons to honor God. There is no shortage of reasons to thank him and praise him. There is no shortage of reasons to devote ourselves to serving him. Our God is faithful. Our God acts on our behalf and cares for us in ways we will never understand. The least we can do is strive to be faithful to Him. Let us show our faithfulness to God not in what we say, but through the life that we live.
Amen.
References
Abraham, L. (2016, January 15). Grand Canyon University Spiritul Life Blog. Retrieved from Grand Canyon University: https://www.gcu.edu/blog/spiritual-life/weekly-devotional-fruit-spirit-faithfulness
Biblica, Inc. (1984, 2011). The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Harper Collins Publishers.
Oxford University. (2022, September 3
0). Oxford University Press. Retrieved from Oxford English Dictionary: https://www.google.com/search?q=definition+of+peace&rlz=1C1GCEB_en&oq=definition+of+faithful&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i20i263i512j0i512l5j0i10i512j0i512l2.2725j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Tyndale House Foundation. (1996, 2004, 2015). Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Carol Stream, Illinois. All rights reserved.: Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
The Oxford dictionary defines the word faithful as, "remaining loyal and steadfast." When we think of faithfulness in the Bible, it stems from a place of trust and loyalty. (Abraham, 2016) The Israelites were able to count on God to deliver them from slavery. (Exodus 12:31 - 42) God stood with Gideon and led him to victory over the Midianite army. (Judges 7) God remained with King David, despite his sin against God. (2 Samuel 11-12, Psalm 51) God never left the side of his servant Job. (Job 1-42) God in human form (Jesus) saved souls, healed the sick (Luke 5 18-25), and gave hope to the multitudes (The Sermon on the Mount; Matthew 5-7). God's ultimate show of faithfulness to us came when he fulfilled his promise of sending a Savior to deliver the world from sin (Luke 2, Matthew 27 - 28).
As you can see, God is many things, especially faithful. It is important that we not only receive the faithfulness of God, but we strive to be faithful to him as well. We should be faithful in our prayer life. We should be faithful in developing relationships with other believers. We should be faithful in helping to build the kingdom of God. We should be faithful in sharing the good news about Jesus.
If you have never taken a deep dive into the faithfulness of God, I encourage to do so. You can start by researching scriptures about faithfulness. Here are a few that I tend to reference often:
"Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and my your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful." (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)
"O Lord God of Heavens armies, where is there anyone as mighty as you O Lord? You are entirely faithful." (Psalm 89:8)
"He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ Returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says and he has invited you into partnership with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:8-9)
"If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is." (2 Timothy 2:11-13)
"The steadfast love of the Lord endures forever; his mercies never come to an end. They are made new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness!" (Lamentations 3:22-23)
There is no shortage of reasons to honor God. There is no shortage of reasons to thank him and praise him. There is no shortage of reasons to devote ourselves to serving him. Our God is faithful. Our God acts on our behalf and cares for us in ways we will never understand. The least we can do is strive to be faithful to Him. Let us show our faithfulness to God not in what we say, but through the life that we live.
Amen.
References
Abraham, L. (2016, January 15). Grand Canyon University Spiritul Life Blog. Retrieved from Grand Canyon University: https://www.gcu.edu/blog/spiritual-life/weekly-devotional-fruit-spirit-faithfulness
Biblica, Inc. (1984, 2011). The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Harper Collins Publishers.
Oxford University. (2022, September 3
0). Oxford University Press. Retrieved from Oxford English Dictionary: https://www.google.com/search?q=definition+of+peace&rlz=1C1GCEB_en&oq=definition+of+faithful&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i20i263i512j0i512l5j0i10i512j0i512l2.2725j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Tyndale House Foundation. (1996, 2004, 2015). Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Carol Stream, Illinois. All rights reserved.: Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
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