“My eyes and my heart
will always be there.” (1 Kings 9:3) The
Lord stated this to Solomon when He consecrated the temple, making a promise that is as solid and true today
as the moment it was first spoken. And
while the temple no longer stands in Jerusalem ,
we as His children are His temples.
Therefore, His eyes are on us, and His heart is with us. He is here.
He is present. And He is always
faithful.
“Never will I leave you; never will
I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5, also Deuteronomy 31:6,8; Joshua 1:5).
Reading the book of Lamentations is a trip into a country
song. It is dark and depressing, leaving
one with a serious need for a soul boost afterward. However, even in the midst of melancholy,
destruction and devastation, Jeremiah remembers who God is:
“His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Great is God’s faithfulness.
What does that look like? How
does it manifest? What are the tangible
expressions of His faithfulness?
One morning, the Lord asked me: “Why am I faithful?” I had no answer, so I asked Him why. His reply was at first mysterious to me: “Because I am who I am.” Then, He expounded: “I am forever. I am constant. I the Lord do not change (Malachi 3:6). I rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). I renew you. I sustain you. I give you good gifts. I am faithful.”
Okay then. At first, I didn't understand why He brought up the subject. After all, I know who He is, and I have loved Him my whole life. I know He is faithful. Now, however, I realize that regardless of what I know I need to be reminded of just how much He loves me and that He never leaves, because sometimes in the midst of trial and torment it may appear that He isn’t there or that He doesn't love me. So yes, I love that He’s a Dad who takes time to remind me of His consistency and the fact that He thinks I’m awesome to the point of rejoicing over me. And I love that He lavishes His love on me in so many ways and that He is forever faithful, even when I am not.
When I have
these questions, I also go to the Scriptures because
God’s promises to me are there in black and white, so even when my emotions may
get the better of me, I can stop and hold the evidence of His faithfulness in my
hands. These are a few of the Scriptures
that remind me how faithful He is:
“Those who wait on
the Lord shall renew their strength,” (Isaiah 40:28-31).
“If God is for us
who can ever be against us,” (Romans 8:31-32).
“Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that
we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with
which we ourselves are comforted by God,” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4,
NKJV).
“Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ?
Neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things
present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any created thing, shall
be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus,” (Romans
8:35, 38-39, NKJV).
“In my distress I
cried to the Lord and He heard me,”
(Psalm 120:1, NKJV).
“For I know the
plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm
you, to give you a hope and a future…I will be found by you…and I will bring
you back from captivity,” (Jeremiah 29:11, 14).
These words keep me strong,
reminding me who He is and that He is there for me, even when it doesn’t feel
like it. They are my rhetorical reset. I love that He is
constant. I love that He is
forever. And most of all I love that He’s
my Dad, and no matter what I do or don’t do, He’s on my side, and He’s always,
always there.
