God's Faithfulness - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 91:15b,

"... I will be with him in trouble ..."

This phrase, taken from verse 15 of this psalm, reminds me that the Lord will be with us during times of trouble. As trouble comes, he will be with us, he will see us through it - he is faithful.

An important character trait of God is pointed to that we can rest assured of in the midst of trouble, "his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." Verse 4. The faithfulness of God is an important thing to be aware of and celebrate as we place our faith in him. He will never leave us, he will never forsake us, but be with us even during difficult times.

I am disappointed with some who feel that if we don't "perform" in our new life in Christ, he will forsake us, abandon us. I see this as a gaping hole in their understanding of God's nature. Their perspective is that we need to earn God's favor at every moment to maintain our righteous standing with him. Apparently for them, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross was simply not enough to cover our sins completely, and that the suffering of Jesus on the Cross needs to be embellished, adorned with our "good works." As if God just might forsake us!

I simply don't see it that way at all. As the psalmist points to God's faithfulness, it is that very aspect of God that prompts me to want to live my life in a way that pleases him. Not that I'm very good at it, but knowing the Lord is faithful to me motivates me tremendously to be faithful to him. His faithfulness prompts my faithfulness.

The writer of Hebrews quoted Moses from a farewell address to the nation of Israel as he passed the torch to Joshua (Deuteronomy 31:6), "Never will I [the Lord your God] leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5. That was addressed to the nation of Israel, but in the Hebrews 13 passage we find an exhortation to the church to order our lives in such a way that pleases the Lord, and knowing of this faithfulness of the Lord provides tremendous motivation to be faithful to him.

Listen to this wonderful comment Paul made to the church in Corinth, "He [God] will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

The rock solid, never-changing faithfulness of God is something we can count on as a shield and rampart for our lives and spawns our own faithfulness to him!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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