Nancy Taylor Tate
The goodness and faithfulness of God continue to be predominant themes in my own thoughts as well as in times of fellowship, as the Lord continues to work deep into my heart a greater understanding of who He is, His nature, and His character.
Each year for my birthday, my husband sings a song to me. Last year the song was especially moving as he sang words declaring I would always be able to count on him; that he would always be true.
As I listened to him sing, my heart was moved by his beautiful declaration of love and faithfulness. I knew what I was hearing was not just words put to a beautiful melody, but an expression of who he is; the person I am also coming to know day by day through his actions and choices. What a precious gift!
In God’s Word, we have an even greater declaration of unfailing love and faithfulness. God not only is love and says that He loves us, but His actions bear witness to His love for us. “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us…” 1 John 3:16.
God’s faithfulness is much greater than we can perceive with our natural minds. “Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds” Psalm 36:5 NLT.
God is loving and faithful, that is who He is. However, I personally have to come to know His love and learn to have faith in His faithfulness so I can then rest in Him, as I become a recipient of who He is, His love, and His faithfulness.
In scripture, we see this at work in Habakkuk’s life through circumstances he was trying to understand. At that time in history, God was judging Israel’s sins by using those more evil than themselves to deal with them. Habakkuk did not understand; he only saw the terrible things happening, and it was causing him to doubt God and question His righteousness.
Fortunately, Habakkuk did not go to man with his questions; he went to God. Then he waited to hear from God. God did answer him. But interestingly, God did not answer his questions. Instead, God addressed the cause of Habakkuk’s questions – his limited knowledge of God.
God further revealed Himself and His righteousness to Habakkuk. This caused Habakkuk to remember God’s faithfulness. As he thought on this, faith sprang up in his heart, and his questions faded. The book ends with Habakkuk not questioning God, but worshipping Him in faith, expectation, and hope.
“For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” Habakkuk 2:14.
Because of Habakkuk’s increased faith, he was now able to say:
“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places” Habakkuk 3:17-19.
“The just shall live by his faith” Habakkuk 2:4b. The just shall live by faith – in His faithfulness! It’s not just what God is doing at the moment, but who He is! It’s the goodness of God! His righteousness! His faithfulness!
We, too, are living during times that are often hard to understand. There may also be seasons in our personal lives that are hard to understand. Yet, because we have come to know God’s faithfulness, faith stirs in our hearts, and we can look to Him in an attitude of faith and trust. We, too, can take a posture of worship as we focus on the faithfulness of God, His goodness, and His righteousness.
“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night” Psalm 92:1-2.
What reassurance it brings, that God is good! God loves us! He is faithful!
Psalm 89:1, “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.”
As we come to understand the faithfulness of God and the vastness of His love for us, may we enter into His rest, regardless of what is happening at the moment. May we trust Him with our very lives. In expectation and hope, may we rejoice in the God of our salvation!