Experiencing God’s Faithfulness
God is so amazing. When He first called me to write for the 40 days of Lent, I hemmed and hawed my way right up to Ash Wednesday. I was trying to convince myself that God got it wrong. Why would He call me to write for so many days? What would I write about? Could He really mean for me to undertake such a large endeavor? I felt so unqualified. But I obediently began to write and day after day He provided me the words to share with each of you. Each day was an amazing journey with our amazing God. God is faithful to see us through where He calls us to go.
I have been blessed to experience God’s faithfulness many times in my life. He was faithful through my writing of a blog for Advent. He was faithful through fund-raising and traveling to South Africa to serve the under-resourced. He was faithful through caring for my mom while she was ill and dying. He graciously allowed me to reach her bedside, a 400 mile drive, before He welcomed her to heaven. He was faithful throughout my battle with cancer and graciously sustained me through a couple scary times when we thought it had returned. There are countless others examples I can think of in my life where I have experienced His faithfulness.
Those first hand experiences are what sustains my each day. When troubles come my way, either of my own doing or just circumstances that cause me to be anxious, I am able to look back to remember all the times in my life God has sustained me and been faithful to see me through.
Scripture is filled with examples of God’s faithfulness towards His people. We see it with Abraham and Sarah where God promised to make their descendants as numerous as the stars. Hard for Abraham and Sarah to comprehend since she was barren. (Genesis 15:1-6; Genesis 21:1-7) God was faithful when He rescued the Israelites from Egypt parting the Red Sea so the Israelites could safely cross and then closing the wall of water and the Egyptians perished. (Exodus 14:15-31) God was faithful to Peter as he became the builder of the Acts 2 churches. (Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:14-41)
God is faithful to see us through where He calls us to go. He is also faithful to uphold us when we are struggling and just can’t seem to put another foot forward. I read this morning a verse I hadn’t really noticed before. Jesus is speaking to Jewish leaders when he says “But He who sent me is reliable.” (John 8:26b; Other translations use the word trustworthy, my version is an older NIV) I looked up synonyms of reliable and a few stood out: dependable, constant, steadfast and faithful. How beautiful those words are to a believer, it is what we all crave.
The Bible is filled with many examples of God’s faithfulness-a legacy for us to read, enjoy, and daily be sustained.
Do you have a legacy book of God’s faithfulness to you? A family history filled with your experiences of God’s faithfulness would be beautiful gift for you to share with your family.
Lord,
I thank you for your continued faithfulness in my life. Without you I would be lost. You have blessed me with words to share with many and I am grateful. I also thank you for all the kind encouraging words I received as I wrote. I look forward to the ways you will challenge me in the future.
Julie…you have such a gift for writing and I am so glad that God encouraged you to share it with us! I looked forward each day to your messages and the spiritual journey they led me on. Thank you!