God is faithful in the midst of the storm
2020 has been a challenging year for many people and businesses. Many economies and businesses are shaking. Many people have lost their jobs as a result of Covid-19. As a church, our hearts were broken last week with the passing of our brother, Kwasi Owusu-Sekyere. I believe a lot of questions are going through your mind. Being human, I also asked questions and prayed. As I prayed, I sensed in my heart the Lord telling me to tell you that he is the faithful God.
Let’s read two scriptures.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3.22-23 ESV)
Know therefor that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, (Deuteronomy 7.9 ESV)
God is faithful, and his faithfulness does not depend on our faithfulness
That God is faithful is an undeniable fact. Everyone else will fail and fall yet he remains faithful forever and ever and his faithfulness never changes. The faithfulness of God is not dependent on our faithfulness. Sometimes as humans we are not faithful, but he is always faithful to his promise.
True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.” (Romans 3.3-4 NLT)
Let everyone else disappoint and tell stories but he remains faithful. 2 Timothy 2.13 says, even if we are faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself or change who he is. This morning I have the word in my heart and spirit that no matter the circumstance and situation and what you are going through, God is faithful.
God is loving, merciful, and faithful
The first thing we see from our theme scripture, Lamentations 3.22-23 is that God is love and his love is steadfast. The kind of love with which he loves us is unwavering and unconditional. It is a kind of love that stands from one generation to the next.
The second thing it says about God is that he is merciful. When we talk of mercy, we are talking about him being compassionate and kind. The good news is that the love of God and his mercies are new every morning. It means God does not love us with the love of yesterday, but we wake up to a fresh love and mercy every day.
The third thing he says about God is that he is faithful. When the scriptures say that, all we need to do is to believe in it and walk in it.
I have come to observe that the reason we are unable to appreciate the faithfulness of God is that we are unfaithful ourselves. Sometimes we are not loyal or consistent so when we look at God, we look at him in that same frame and think that he is like us. But know that we may be unfaithful, but he is faithful and remains loyal.
The only faithful God
In the second scripture we read, Deuteronomy 7.9, God says he is the faithful God. There is no other faithful god. You may be going through some hardships and disappointments, but I carry the word of God in my spirit to you this morning that the Lord is the faithful God. He keeps his covenants to a thousand generations. Everything else will change; generations will pass away; but one thing that remains constant in all these changes is the faithfulness of God—he keeps his covenant from one generation to the next. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If he was faithful yesterday, he is faithful today, and will be faithful tomorrow. It is not you that he is going to let down. He is not a man that he should lie nor the son of man that he should change his mind. People talk about generational curses, but I talk about generational blessings because I know that faithful God who keeps his promises from one generation to the next. It is not now that he is going to change. May he speak into our lives that generational blessing.
What does faithfulness mean?
The word “faithful” as used in this context means “truthful.” Thus, to say God is faithful is to say he is truthful. It describes the character of God and his actions.
What does the Bible say about God’s faithfulness?
Faithfulness is the character of God
When you are describing God, his faithfulness is one thing you cannot take away. In Deuteronomy 32, Moses sang a song. In verse 4 he said something as part of his song: “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” (ESV) You may not understand him or know why but his work is perfect. When the Rock acts, it is perfect. In him there is no lie. His promises are yea and amen. He cannot disappoint or let us down. The vision may tarry but it shall surely come to pass. God’s faithfulness is great—it is abundant in quantity, size, and quality. In him there is no scarcity of faithfulness. His faithfulness never comes to an end. I want you to be encouraged and know that the dream is on. Nothing changes it because the faithful God is not dead. He is alive. Events come to shake us but the faithful God is still God.
I remember Job who lost everything he had. Had it been us we would have asked, “Where is God?” but God proved faithful to Job. At the end of Job’s story, he got double of everything he lost. My beginning may be small, but my end shall be great. Somebody may be crying but I speak the word of God into your life. You may be crying today but tomorrow you will smile for we serve a God who is faithful.
Main references
Lamentations 3.22-23, Deuteronomy 7.9, Romans 3.3-4, 2 Timothy 2.13, Deuteronomy 32.4