Skip to main content

Faithfulness

                 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His faithfulness is everlasting.

Give thanks to the God of gods, For His faithfulness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His faithfulness is everlasting.
To Him who alone does great wonders, For His faithfulness is everlasting;
To Him who made the heavens with skill, For His faithfulness is everlasting;
To Him who spread out the earth above the waters, For His faithfulness is everlasting;
To Him who made the great lights, For His faithfulness is everlasting:
The sun to rule by day, For His faithfulness is everlasting,
The moon and stars to rule by night, For His faithfulness is everlasting. (Psalm 136:1-9)

          There is one thing that this psalm wants make very abundantly clear. There is to be no doubt in anyone’s mind. “His faithfulness is everlasting.”  I hit walls. I may eat the same thing every day or keep doing some specific activity for years. One day, often with little warning that I notice, I would rather die than have anything to do with whatever it was. Some folks say I’m loyal. Others say I’m crazy. I think both may be true, but if one isn’t, the inaccuracy is in my loyalty. Someday, I will walk away, probably at the time least convenient to anyone else. And I realize that what I am doing it inconvenient, wrong, frustrating for others. I just have nothing left.

          I know I’m not alone in this. Two people stand in front of witnesses and promise, “until death do us part,” and before either is dead, say, “Well, it’s over. Goodbye.” Because I’ve been on the failing end when it comes to faithfulness, the statement that God’s faithfulness is everlasting is of special significance. God doesn’t hit walls. He doesn’t run out of whatever it is that I run out of. He doesn’t go on vacation, or quit his job, or abandon us.

          I’m finding this more real this fall than I have in the past. I think I have only had one or two days without gainful employment weeding. Sometimes, I have (nearly) finished one job before the next comes along. Tomorrow I plan to finish one, and I have three scheduled after it. If the weather stays tolerable, I may have to pick up the pace. It’s not a lot of money because I don’t spend a lot of time doing it on any given day, but I’m enjoying God’s provision.

          I came to Florida at the very end of the season for butterflies and found a caterpillar on my passion vine. I found another and found a third in the mesh habitat. It was apparently an egg on a leaf when I brought it in. I’m up to six. After butterfly season.

          These are comparatively trivial examples of God’s faithfulness, but faithfulness is faithfulness, no matter the size of the act it produces. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more