“O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.” Isaiah 25:1
You’ve probably noticed this by now, but there aren’t many things that are perfect in this life, most everything is flawed and broken at some point or another. Even your people whom you love and who love you the most have cracks and inconsistencies. You do. I do. We all do.
The faithfulness of God, however, is neither cracked nor flawed.
It might not always look like how you want it to look, but we have the assurance that, in keeping with God’s character, His faithfulness is perfect.
I have to be honest here – I have struggled with this one; this idea that God’s faithfulness is perfect. Because there have been moments that have stretched into weeks, and months that have stretched into years, where it seemed to me that God was not being faithful, that He had left me to fend for myself in certain areas. Call me crazy, but when I think of things like health problems, financial pressure, fractured relationships and life’s confusing and unanticipated changes, the first thing that comes to my mind isn’t “Wow, God has been SO faithful!”. My thoughts are more along the lines of “Where did He go?? Did we slip through the cracks somehow?”
But God’s faithfulness to us doesn’t mean we will never feel left in the dark or confused over what might be happening in our lives. God’s faithfulness doesn’t mean that everything will make sense. As much as I know this in my mind, my heart still struggles to accept it when life throws a curveball. And so I cling tight to this when the waters of doubt are rising fast in my heart and mind:
God’s faithfulness is perfect because He is perfect.
He sees what you and I cannot see – the past, the present and the future all in one glance.
He knows and understands things we never will, and how what we are struggling with today is strengthening and positioning us for our tomorrow.
He has planned our steps and our seasons “long ago”, as Isaiah 25:1 says, weaving them together in such a way that one day, when we stand with His arm around our shoulders and look back with Him, we will be able to see the marvelous things He has done with our lives.
Because in addition to the fact that God knows all things and sees all things, you and I must always remember that all of His power and all of His authority is totally and completely wrapped up in His goodness and love.
His faithfulness towards us is perfect – perfectly what we need, sustaining us in every high and every low and all the days in between – because He CANNOT be anything but good towards you.
There are no cracks in His faithfulness to you. You will not slip through. He has you in His perfect grip.
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