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Experiencing the Faithfulness of God.

Experiencing the Faithfulness of God.

There is no point in putting our faith in anything we do not find trustworthy. It is not reasonable to trust God unless we have found him faithful.

I spent time thinking about why I believe that God is trustworthy, and how to put in words his faithfulness to me. Five things came to me. I have personally experienced the faithfulness of God through his presence, peace, love, grace and forgiveness.

Presence – I have experienced God’s nearness, the hush of the divine as though it brushed my cheek. Sometimes I have felt his nearness as though his warm breath was on the back of my neck, assuring me, “I am here.” So with the psalmist I say, “your presence fills me with joy”!1

Peace – I have experienced the faithfulness of God through feeling his peace. My favorite verse for a number of years running was “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid.”2 Jesus’ words were life to me, and helped me trust him for peace—even when it was illogical to be at peace.

Love – From the time I was little more than knee-high, I knew that ‘God loved me so much, he gave his Son to die for my sins,’3 and that kind of sacrificial love became a measuring stick in my life. To really love another is to be willing to give of myself to them. I have been a rich woman, loving and being loved by so many in my 50+ years on planet earth…all because of the faithfulness of God’s love—truly.

Grace – It is the grace of God that sustains me—especially when it feels like I am hanging by a thread. Though I have not been imprisoned or beaten like him, I do relate to Paul’s sentiments in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, as he refers to some constant ailment: “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”4 So far, God has not seen fit to heal me of fibromyalgia, which I have had for 23 years…but, his grace has sustained me. There were times when I was speaking at a retreat or leading a group, and I prayed and asked God for grace to represent him well, and he supplied it. You see, I do not want to just barely get it done—not when I am speaking or teaching—after all, who wants to listen to a sniveler? I want to represent the Lord with excellence and he has always been faithful to give me what I needed. He is good.

Forgiveness – For certain, I know God’s faithfulness in the area of forgiveness. I am a sinner, who has fallen more times than I can count, sometimes my guilt weighing me down so much, I might as well be buried under a load of marred and broken bricks. And then I remember: ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’5 And so I do … confess, and then he does … forgive me; then he cleans me up, brushes me off, and stands me on my feet again. He takes away the heavy load of guilt as only he can do, because there is such a wideness in his mercy.

Just five areas in which I know the faithfulness of God in my life—besides answered prayers, joy, healing/regeneration, spiritual and character growth…think about it for yourself—how do you know, see, feel the faithfulness of God in your life?

Love this song to sum up: “Never once” by Matt Redman

“Standing on this mountaintop, looking just how far we’ve come, knowing that for every step you were with us

Kneeling on this battle ground, seeing just how much you’ve done

Knowing every victory was your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way…but with joy our hearts can say

Yes, our hearts can say…

“Never once did we ever walk alone… never once did you leave us on our own. You are faithful, God, You are faithful!!”

Christine Todd DiGiacomoClick to watch/listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=722zPX1npcA

1 – Psalm 16.11; 2 – John 14.27; 3 – loose paraphrase John 3.16; 4 – 2 Corinthians 12.8-9; 5 – 1 John 1.9;