Of all the things God is none of it matters as much to me as His faithfulness. If He is love, but not consistently love, He is less than perfect. If He is just but not always just, that is terrifying. If He gives grace but is not forever gracious, my relationship with Him will be based on fear and self-righteousness. In all these things, His faithfulness is the thread that binds them all together for His glory and our good.
As the old hymn that cites James 1:17 says, “There is no shadow of turning with thee. Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not. Great is the Faithfulness, Lord unto me.”
Unto me?
Wow. God is faithful not only to Himself, but to us. On the one hand that is remarkable. He has no obligation to us, yet He will never let us go. He keeps his promises to us even though we are prone to wander. Remarkable!
But then again…
Unsurprising. If He IS faithfulness (as Marika – Willowdale’s student ministry pastor – so well taught us on Sunday), it is impossible for Him to not keep His promises to us. To not be faithful to us is impossible for Him because He IS faithfulness.
So, if “there is no shadow of turning,” that means there is no darkness in Him. He is light and He doesn’t change. As we move in and out of the light and the earth moves, our shadow shifts. Not true for God. He is the source of light – there is no shadow because there is no movement (turning) in Him. He is steadfast.
We know He is light. We know He doesn’t change. We know He is faithful to Himself and to us.
This is reassuringly good news. It frees us up to live without fear and with assurance for our future.
But wait – there’s more!
Yes to all of the above, but God calls us to something deeper – He calls us to live out faithfulness as well. Uh, gulp. (profound writing, I know.)
How?
This is the gift of the Holy Spirit. Of our own will, our own efforts, we cannot be perfectly faithful. Yet He calls us to be faithful.
Three things to ponder this week as you consider how we can practice our own faithfulness.
He who began a good work in you….God is the one who works out our faithfulness. Trust that in the failures of our own faithfulness, He can still build up faithfulness in our lives again. You will fail. He will restore.
Faithfulness is a marathon (again, pulling that from Marika’s teaching on Sunday). It is about perseverance. Keep the long game in mind and humble yourself to that end. The Holy Spirit is with you, so rely on Him and meet with the Father in prayer and scripture. Ask Him to increase your faithfulness. Then do it again. And again. He is faithful so He will do it!
Raise some Ebenezers. As we like to look back on TimeHops and photo albums of the good times in the past, recall those proven times of God’s faithfulness in your own life. Preach to yourself and those around you about demonstrations of God’s faithfulness in your life and the world around you. Look back on your own obedience to Him to see how He used that down the line to provide, protect, and defend you. Talk about them with your community. If it suits you, write them down in a journal. Or start a jar that you can fill with stones where you write a word or date on each to recall specific times of faithfulness. Get creative – but having tangible, visible reminders of His faithfulness can be a great way to encourage you in times of testing and motivation in times where you can be faithful in small ways now knowing that it will produce great faithfulness in the long run.
ABOUT OUR BLOGGER
Originally from Georgia, Mary Beth Gombita is a lover of sweet tea, a proud Georgia Bulldog and an avid music fan. She works in public relations, running her own communications consulting business from home. Mary Beth and her husband, Stephen, have two sons who are both toddlers. She is currently the editor of our Willowdale Women blogs.
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