My God Alphabet Journey: F
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I'm sharing my personal alphabetical list of some of the infinite attributes of God. This week I'm on the letter F.
I enjoy running as a way to stay fit and start the day. Whenever I go out, I use a running app on my mobile device that tracks my route and time. This morning the weather was perfect as the sun was starting to rise. It was a beautiful day for a run, and I knew my pace would be faster than usual, so I looked forward to seeing my actual time on the app at the end of the run. When I arrived back home and checked the app, however, I was disappointed to see that it stopped working sometime during the run.
This is a small, inconsequential example of a stark fact of this life and world: Technology can sometimes fail us. The things of this world sometimes don't come through when we need them. And yes, sometimes even people fail us.
Some of the hardest times of life occur when someone lets usdown—or worse yet, betrays or even leaves us. In those moments, we can feelutterly alone and heartbroken. We can also be tempted to blame God for allowingbad things to happen to us.
There have been times in my life when I have felt betrayed and emotionally wounded by the decisions and actions of people I trusted and even loved. Those times were "forked-road" moments when I had to choose to continue to walk by faith down the path of trusting God instead of walking away from Him. Years later, as I reflect on those times, I see a much bigger reality at work in my life—God has always been faithful to me.
Faithfulness is defined by words such as loyal, reliable, and dependable. It is exemplified by phrases like steadfast in allegiance, and true to one's word. God IS the very definition of faithfulness!
There are dozens of verses in the Bible that specifically speakof God's faithfulness. Here is one example:
"Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy with them who love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations" Deuteronomy 7:9
There are times when we need to trust and hang on to God and His promises even when we don't understand or see answers to our struggles. It is when we look back after the storms of life that we understand God is faithful and dependable to carry us through hard days and bring us to a better place. The Apostle Paul put it this way:
"We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
God doesn't always answer our prayer requests the way we want.When my oldest sister was diagnosed with cancer, we prayed for healing. God'sanswer was to lead her to His eternal presence with the promise of a new,resurrected body that will never see disease again.
Your situation may or may not be answered the exact way youdesire, but God will never fail or forsake you! The Bible states that God'sways are higher than ours. This Truth always remains: God's love for you isunchangeable and unshakeable, and He will always be faithful—to do otherwisewould be a denial of His very nature, which is impossible.
You can take God at His Word that He is always faithful. Hisfaithfulness isn't just for us, but also for the Church, and even the peoplewho fail us.
Several years ago, I served at a church where an associate pastor made a poor moral choice that cost him his ministry position, nearly cost him his marriage, and wounded the Church. As the Church struggled through the shock of this situation, I was inspired to write the song "People Fail Us" as a reminder of God's never-ending faithfulness to all of us. I've included the audio file of this song with this post, and the lyrics are included below. As the Church dealt with this tragic failing, this verse was instructive to many of us in our response:
"Brothers, if a man is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, watching yourselves, lest you also be tempted. "Galatians 6:1
God's faithfulness was displayed as the church healed and flourished. His faithfulness also was shown in the life of the former pastor, whom I had the privilege of spending time with as he underwent cancer treatment years later. He was a new man—restored and forgiven‑after going through a long healing process with God, his wife, and family. His countenance reflected a renewed heart and commitment to God, who faithfully stood with him through his failings and restoration.
So whether you've been hurt by someone else's failure or you have failed God and people —as we all have done in little and big ways— God invites us to turn to Him and experience His Faithfulness
The "F' of my God alphabet is this: God is our Faithful.
God bless you!
Chris Atkins
People Fail Us
Words and music by Christopher J. Atkins© 2001. All rights reserved.
(From the recording "Soul River" )
http://chrisatkins.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/People-Fail-Us.mp3
People fail us, and people fail God
And we're left hurting, alone and confused
But God is faithful; He'll never betray us
And He'll never leave us standing alone
He'll never leave us standing alone
In the wake of the storm, we see wreckage and loss
The how and the why we just don't understand
Lord, be in this time when we're shaken and torn
To hold us in Your faithful hand.
People fail us, but God won't fail us
He'll see us through the storm and all the way home
Yes, God is faithful, He'll never betray us
He'll never leave us standing alone
He'll never leave us standing alone
We all need forgiveness; no one is perfect
We all need His love to survive and be strong
Lord, help us through the storm, and reach beyond ourselves
And move on when someone's done us wrong.
Yes, God is faithful, He'll never betray us
And He'll never leave us standing alone
He'll never leave us standing alone
When you walk through times in life that you just don'tunderstand
Remember that God will never leave you
So take hold of His hand.
God is faithful; God is faithful
He'll see you through the storm and all the way home
Yes, God is faithful, He'll never betray us
And He'll never leave us standing alone
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