God's Faithfulness: Mary Kathryn Lassetter
Those of us that live and work in Christian circles are often surrounded by phrases that point to God’s faithfulness. We sing about it, we encourage others with it, we pray it, we post it on our social media. However, if I were to ask you to define what you mean by God’s faithfulness could you? I’m not asking if you could give me examples from your own personal experience. I mean could you defend that God is faithful through an apologetic definition and scripture?
I fear that we have taken this truth and dwindled its meaning down to what it means for us personally. When we do this God’s faithfulness becomes nothing more than how it applies to us personally.
Our security in God’s faithfulness cannot be grounded in how He has been faithful to me, but instead how He Himself declares Himself faithful. So the question I pose is do you know how He has declared Himself faithful?
If you are wondering why I’m posing this question, consider this- if we only identify God’s faithfulness through our personal definition and experiences then two pitfalls become extremely evident. First, there will come a time in your walk with Christ that you will decide He is no longer faithful. Second, you will encounter those that say God has been faithful to you, but not them; so they want nothing to do with him. These are dangerous roads we quickly find ourselves on if we define God’s faithfulness by our experiences.
A question this large cannot be answered in one short blog post, but we can begin by laying one brick for such a journey. We want to build a path toward a biblical understanding of how to define God’s faithfulness.
God Names Himself Faithful
The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,- Exodus 33:5-6
Professor Locke calls this Gods’ full name that He has given Himself. Think about this. Moses asks to see God, and when God comes down to proclaim Himself He identifies Himself as merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. There it is, from God’s mouth, that He is steadfast in faithfulness.
God doesn’t give parameters or defend what He has said. He states He is steadfast in His faithfulness. This means regardless of what we may think or feel, it doesn’t change the truth of who He is. And here is where our confidence lies–in His very essence, not in our personal experiences.
Paul relays this truth in Romans 3:3 when he argues the faithlessness of men does not nullify the faithfulness of God. And again when Paul writes to Timothy that “if we are faithless He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” What a comfort to this wandering heart! God’s faithfulness to me doesn’t rely on my faithfulness to Him. His faithfulness is founded on who He is, and not on how strong my faith is. Praise be to the Lord!
How scary the life of a believer would be if we lived with the thought that our faithfulness to God determines His faithfulness to us. Instead, our security in our status as a child of God is as solid as His commitment to being faithful.
God’s faithfulness to Himself goes far beyond a mild understanding of Him remaining “loyal” to us. By being faithful to Himself, He is faithful to all that is His essence. He is faithful to love, to comfort, to teach, to rebuke, to execute justice, to show mercy, to strengthen the weak, to humble the proud, and on and on it goes. God’s faithfulness isn’t limited to just being loyal to a host of wayward and rebellious children. If we limit our understanding of His faithfulness to this, then we are missing an awe inspiring picture of how God’s faithfulness to Himself spills over into every part of our weary but victorious walk on this earth.
God’s faithfulness Beyond Your happiness
Often when people point to their experiences to show how the Lord has been faithful, they point to how things have gone well for them. Please understand we should look for God’s faithfulness in our lives. We need to look and see that the Lord is faithful, but let us not confuse only “good things” with God’s faithfulness.
Throughout the Psalms the authors praise God for his faithfulness, and they call upon this faithfulness to sustain them during the good and hard times. In Psalm 25, a psalm traditionally viewed as a lament, David cries out, “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love, and faithfulness.” This is the same Psalm where David asks God to “let not my enemies exult over me,” and cries out, “I am lonely and afflicted.” Let’s not forget that David also says, “The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distress. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.” It is hard to spin these words and find that David is feeling trouble free, peaceful, and content. In fact we can conclude from his words that his heart is very much troubled. Yet, he declares, “ALL the paths of the Lord are steadfast love, and faithfulness.”
How about in Psalm 57 when David was hiding in a cave fleeing from Saul. He cries out, “For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!”
When you feel the heat and darkness of this world enclosing around you, will you quickly decide that His faithfulness has vanished? Learn from the Psalmists that your circumstances do not dictate the Lord’s faithfulness.
What does the Lord’s Faithfulness look like?
If we can’t identify the Lord’s faithfulness by the circumstances in our lives then how will we know He is faithful? That is a question that we must answer, and once again we are laying one brick on our path of understanding.
To begin this path I find it helpful to see if there are patterns or certain words that recur around the word faithful. Time and time again God’s “steadfast love” is found in reference to and related to God’s faithfulness. This steadfast love of the Lord is where God’s people find the truth of His faithfulness, and all that this love entails.
Psalm 98:3 says, “He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness…” and in Exodus when the Lord announces Himself to Moses He proclaims Himself to be “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” God Himself links his faithfulness and his love together.
From this we can have confidence that beyond looking at our own personal circumstances (what has or hasn’t happened to us or for us), we look to God’s never changing love for us to prove His faithfulness. It is God’s love that sustains, strengthens, protects, and saves us. He doesn’t just do this once. His steadfast love never stops or ends, or gives up, or gives out.
This amazing steadfast love of the Lord is steadfast not because of who we are, what we did, or didn’t do. And this steadfast love of the Lord is always faithful, because He is faithful. His faithfulness is seen over and over again in how He loves and cares for us in all the moments of our lives.
As you look for God’s faithfulness in your life do not only look at your circumstances, but to His steadfast love. When you wonder how to know if He is faithful, read His word and the truths that lie therein. When you aren’t sure that God will be faithful, remember His word speaks to how He has been faithful to His children through all the years. When seeking to tell others about God’s faithfulness, speak of His steadfast love to you and all His children. And remember He is faithful because of who He is and He will remain faithful to you. “If we are faithless, he remains faithful- for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13)
Meet mary Kathryn!
I’m married to Dr. Jerry Lassetter, it will be twenty years this March! I have spent the majority of those years as a stay at home mom and wife. We attend North Wake Church where I serve on the Women’s Ministry team where I help teach and create curriculum for our ladies, amongst many other jobs. This February I’m hoping to catch up on some reading, try a few new recipes, and accomplish a bajillion projects around the house. (No lie it’s a bajillion!)