“...for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things…”
- Isaiah 25:1
What does faithfulness mean to you? What words or things do you think of when you hear the word faithfulness? Some may think immediately of the faithfulness of their parents who have been married for many years. Others may call to mind a friend who has been by their side through thick and thin. Many of us can think of beautiful examples of faithfulness all around us.
But what if you aren’t so fortunate to be surrounded by abundant faithfulness? Have you been jilted, tricked, or cheated on? Does faithfulness conjure up images of someone that hurt you like none other? I first want to say that you don’t deserve any of that hurt and that my heart goes out to you. Secondly, I want to help you see that you are so very worthy of God’s enduring faithfulness.
Throughout Isaiah 25, we find a series of verses that speak to God’s faithfulness. I pray that these beautiful promises flow deep into your heart and begin to heal the hurt.
“You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.” (v. 4a)
”he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.” (v. 8)
“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” (v. 9)
God’s faithfulness has always been a comfort for me in my 32 years of life. It is the reason I am able to face my doubts, worries, and anxieties with a peace that passes all understanding. His faithfulness is the only reason I am here writing this devotional. It gives me my reason for living and the joy that I hold so dear.
I don’t know what you’ve faced and I haven’t walked in your shoes. What I have seen and experienced is a God that looks beyond my past and still continues His faithfulness to me. I haven’t done and will never do anything to truly deserve it. He just gives it.
My prayer for you is that you see that you’re not alone. His faithfulness is never ending and will endure through anything that you will face. If you haven’t yet experienced His faithfulness, I pray that you will and that your life will change for the better.
Response:
If God has been faithful to you in the past, make a list of those ways and keep it somewhere to remind you when you’re in need of a faithful reminder.
If you’re struggling to think of times when God has been faithful and you’re feeling alone, please reach out to someone you trust and share this feeling of loneliness. He may just use that person to shower His faithfulness on you.
Prayer:
Father, I’ve read of Your faithfulness to so many of the characters in the Bible. I’ve seen Your faithfulness in the examples of people around me. And yet, I can’t seem to pinpoint that time when You were faithful to me. I ask that You open my eyes and make Your past and present faithfulness abundantly clear to me. Forgive my doubts that have blinded me to all You’ve done in my life. Remind me today that Your faithfulness is for me. Amen.