I know. It’s been quite a while since I’ve written a devotional. I know. I, too, was wondering when the Lord would nudge my heart with words to share. During the silence, I’d get a thought, but never received the Lord’s “go-ahead” to share anything. It was frustrating because I knew the Lord had directed me to set up the devotional website. I thought, “Surely, the devotionals will come frequently (almost daily – which was what I was used to Him doing when I first started writing the devotionals in 2005). He was faithful then. I was obedient then. So why was it different now? I thought about pulling from the archives from 2005 to 2016. There was so much to choose from. Certainly, I could pick one to get something out there. But the Lord said, “No.” Not because the devotionals weren’t encouraging – they were then and remain so even now. But the Lord wasn’t after me “filling the silence” He commanded – I had to wait for what he wanted me to share as well as His prompting for when it was time to share.
This morning, while at work, I received confirmation about some work I’d done. It brought a smile and an earnest “Thank you Jesus.” And suddenly, the familiar tug on my spirit rose in my heart, and I knew today I was released to write this devotional.
The faithfulness of God. We may not readily recognize and/or appreciate His faithfulness, but it is always present.
Consider Job. The faithfulness of God was at work when he was (unknowingly) recommended to satan by God. That recommendation put him on a path of loss after loss after loss. And, yet, it was God’s faithfulness that boldly (and accurately) declared to satan that Job was a perfect and upright man, one that feared God and shunned evil. It was God’s faithfulness that prevented satan from wiping Job out.
But what captivates me tonight is this: at the outset, it appeared as if God had forsaken and forgotten Job. Faithfulness to Job? How could it be when so much horror hit his life?
Residing in the deep throes of harrowing trials doesn’t mean that God’s faithfulness skipped over your life. Going through difficult seasons doesn’t erase God’s faithfulness. Rather, it is embedded in, around, and through the very trials we despise.
God’s faithfulness is on full display, although life hands us its worst. God’s faithfulness is crystal clear during the darkest nights, and He is ever present, walking with us as we claw through the murky waters. He is there, and while it doesn’t feel like it, His faithfulness continues despite the silence that sometimes cries out, carest thou not that we perish?
The Lord hasn’t forgotten you or your pleas. He isn’t treating you unfairly. He may be silent (for a season), but His faithfulness is still engaged, still active, and equally powerful and impactful in the dark as in bright sunlight.
22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.Lamentations 3:22–23 (KJV)
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. 2 Thessalonians 3:3
In the Master’s Service,
Author/Pastor Michele D Robertson
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 11:28-29 (KJV)