The Wonder Of God's Faithfulness

Last Sunday, pastor Jim Lee in his message at Queenstown Lutheran Church touched on a very important truth of Easter – that God always fulfill His promises. The Resurrection of Christ gives us the assurance of the faithfulness of God’s love for us. Indeed it is the Resurrection of Christ that marks the turning point of human history.

I was reminded that the Christian faith is not about us but it is all about God. It is an adventure of learning what it really means to love God – not for what He can bless us with – but for what Christ has done for us through His death on the cross.

It is a journey of learning to rest in God – not submitting out of fear – but to abandon ourselves in trust to the love of God. It had been a challenging week for me but it was an opportunity to experience the wonder of God’s faithfulness and amazing grace.

It was a time when I experienced the truth that when we face an impossible situation and see no way out we can trust that God will show us His way in His time and by His power. I was reminded of the story of King Jehoshaphat of Judah who faced a great horde of enemy forces.  He chose to worship God and kept His eyes on God. As he did so, he received God’s promise:

“Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. ……..Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you. ” (2 Chronicles 20:3-17)

I was further encouraged this morning by God’s word in Hebrews 4:2-3:

“For this good news – that God has prepared this rest – has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. For only we who believe can enter his rest.”

The following observation of Kelly James Clark gave me much food for thought:

“Genuine faith involves the entire character of a person. Faith is a lifelong process of development that involves the complete transformation of the whole person. Fundamentally, it involves a terrifying and total denial of self.”

The total denial of self is terrifying just like the great hordes facing King Jehoshaphat. And so we need to turn our eyes to the cross and to see ourselves as being crucified with Christ. As we do so, we can trust that the Holy Spirit will transform us from inside out until it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us.