Trusting God’s Faithfulness When the Storms Come

 

Hurricane Irma is battering Southern Florida as I type. I check in with my daughter every few hours to see how she is doing at her in-laws house in Ft. Lauderdale. It does a mama’s heart good to read her text.

I’ve prayed for the storm to die. For the winds to calm and it’s strength to dissipate.

But it still came, and it barreled in at a category 4.

Life and prayer is often like Irma.

What do you do when the answer to your prayer doesn’t come?

When circumstances shift and change suddenly, sometimes for the worse.

What do you do when the answer doesn’t come as you prayed?

The hurricane winds stayed strong.

The deal fell through.

You didn’t get the job.

The divorce became final, or cancer won the battle.

What do we do?

I’ve not experienced all these scenarios, but I’ve lived through grief, heartache, disappointments, and unanswered as well as prayers not answered as I prayed.

I’ve been disillusioned with prayer, angry and bitter, much like a reader who commented on an old post I had written about unanswered prayers.

On the other side of things, I’ve experienced God’s favor and blessings, and I’ve learned it’s easier to trust His faithfulness when everything falls into place. But I’ve discovered that it is paramount–so, so necessary for me to trust His faithfulness and goodness when everything seems to be falling apart. 

If I don’t trust His faithfulness, I’m done. It falls on my shoulders, and I can’t handle the responsibility, and my view of God becomes distorted. I begin to view Him as a God who wants me to suffer rather than a God who desires the best for me and the people I love.

But even when I’m not faithful, He is (2 Timothy 2: 13).

Always. It is His character.

I wrote about this in A Mary Like Me: Flawed Yet Called. 

 “He revealed Himself to His disciples (after the resurrection), first of all to Mary Magdalene. What kind of Savior would reveal Himself as resurrected to a woman who had been mentally ill?

Yet again, Jesus’s actions were not dependent upon Mary Magdalene’s reputation of competence with the disciples or her faith. She was trying to find and prepare his dead body for burial. No, Jesus’s actions were faithful to her needs, her tenacious search for Him, and quite simply to who He was, the risen Messiah.

He didn’t hide Himself because of the lack of faith of those who once believed He was God. He had to show Himself risen because that is who He was and is!

The faithfulness of Jesus is not based on our faith. Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord. The faithfulness of Jesus is not based on our strengths. . . . the faithfulness of Jesus is based on our weaknesses.” (A Mary Like Me p. 190)

His timing is better than mine, and His wisdom greater. When I believe He is faithful, I can trust Him, and that alleviates the stress in my life. It also removes the bitterness and anger that can eat me alive.

Come study God’s faithfulness.

 

I pray this week you will have time to write out each one of these Bites in a journal. They are vital to our foundation of faith. I also have them for you here on a printable with questions and prompts to deepen your time with Him.

Sneak Peek

Psalm 89:8: Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

Psalm 89:14: Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.

Psalm 100:5: For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 108:4: For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Psalm 119: 89-90: Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.

Lamentations 3:22-24: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

2 Timothy 2: 13:  . . . if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

Challenge!

And I want to challenge you to memorize one! (You probably already have one or two memorized anyway–but pick a new one.)

Let’s meditate on God’s faithfulness. Use the verses in the BoB to springboard prayers of praise and worship. Thank Him for His faithfulness.

I’ll be praying for you to experience His faithfulness in new ways. And I’ll be teaching on each bite everyday this week on the daily Facebook Live broadcast. Come to the table and fellowship with us. It’s a bite of soul nourishment to get your day going. Simply follow me on Facebook. The teachings are also on my You Tube channel.

Have an awesome week!

Which is your favorite verse? Which one will you memorize?

Jesus loves you.

 

Digging Deep into His Faithfulness,