This morning, one of my devotions touched on how God is faithful. Yeah, duh, of course He is. But, a line from the text really stopped me in my tracks. “Your God is wholly faithful to you.”
I come across his faithfulness and his love so frequently in reading scripture. And, I try to accept and respond to the truth of his nature. Yet, despite being able to grasp these facets of his nature, I cannot comprehend them.
God is Faithful Even When We Are Faithless
A while back I was reading 2 Timothy. I love this letter from Paul to his protégé. He quotes a “trustworthy saying” in his letter, and it has become a staple of my prayer life–reminding myself that God is faithful, even when we are faithless.
I cannot be wholly faithful. I am human. As an amphibious creature which inhabits both time and the divine, the best that I can manage is a sort of undulation toward it. Despite my determination, I fail.
My capacity for faithfulness limits my ability to even understand it. I understand faithfulness as the attempt to be faithful. The desire to achieve it. The determination that I should demonstrate it.
God is the Source of Faithfulness
Yet, God is the source of faithfulness in creation. Just as God is love, He is faithful. My faithfulness to Him can be nothing more than a response to his faithfulness to me.
An inextinguishable core of faithfulness runs through His being. This facet of his nature shows up in His creation, as a free gift to all.
I’ve dedicated a lot of my walk as a believer dwelling on (and being overwhelmed by) His love. Yet, his faithfulness is also one of the fruits by which we evidence the power of the Holy Spirit within us.
Love is the greatest. But, were not hope and faith listed right beside it?
Do I have faith in His perfect faithfulness? Or is my faith limited? Do I limit my desire to experience his power because all that I know of faithfulness is tainted by my own ability to express it?
Things to ponder this morning.
Prayer for Today
My prayer for today is that God would teach me of His faithfulness in new ways. That my faith in Him would grow–not simply that He is, but that He will do.
I am resolved to meditate today on this aspect of His being.
Verses on How God is Faithful
“The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” 2 Timothy 2:11-13 (ESV)
“let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:22-23 (ESV)
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6 (ESV)
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