Deuteronomy 7:9-10
"Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face," Deuteronomy 7:9-10. Faithful is a term used in our day, but is an action seldom seen by men. Men are consistently unfaithful. Men are liars, covenant breakers, deceivers, back biters, and haters of God. We see unfaithfulness in ourselves and in others, and one of the results is that we end up not trusting people. "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes," Psalm 118:8-9. The Scriptures proclaim the unfaithfulness of mankind, and man's actions confirms this truth. This leaves us in a sad state. We are a people who are self-absorbed, we don't think anything bad should ever happen to us, so when life doesn't go our way, we begin to question God, and His faithfulness. In our minds we bring God down to our level. "These things hast thou done, and I kept silence: thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself; but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes," Psalm 50:21. I am glad that God is not like us; He is faithful.
God is faithful in all things, and at all times. If there was ever a moment when God was not faithful, He would cease to be God. "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" Numbers 23:19. God speaks to us today through the Scriptures. He will do what He said He would do. He does all things on His timing. We question God's faithfulness because He doesn't do what we think He should do within the time frame we give Him to do it. "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps," Proverbs 16:9. When we remember how wicked our hearts are, we will patiently wait upon the Lord. Remember, God is omniscient. We see the now, God sees it all. We can get tunnel vision and forget the promises God has made to those who love Him. "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me," Hebrews 13:5-6. "There are seasons in the lives of all when it is not easy, no not even for Christians, to believe that God is faithful. Our faith is sorely tried, our eyes bedimmed with tears, and we can no longer trace the outworkings of His love. Our ears are distracted with the noises of the world, harassed by the atheistic whisperings of satan, and we can no longer hear the sweet accents of his still small voice. Cherished plans have been thwarted, friends on whom we relied have failed us, a professed brother or sister in Christ has betrayed us. We are staggered. We sought to be faithful to God, and now a dark cloud hides Him from us. We find it difficult, yea, impossible, for carnal reasons to harmonize his frowning providence with His gracious promises. Ah, faltering soul, severely tried fellow pilgrim, seek grace to heed Isaiah 50:10, "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." A.W. Pink.
"At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen," II Timothy 4:16-18. Paul was at a place he would not have chosen to be. He had been forsaken by people he trusted his life with. Those who hated Christ had liberty to do much evil to Paul. Here is a man who has given his life to serve the Lord, but things are not going easy. Not long after this letter was written, Paul's head would be chopped off. Through all this Paul was looking for the ultimate deliverance by God which would happen as soon as his head was severed from his body. In these verses Paul is proclaiming the faithfulness of God! He was resting in the faithfulness of God. "And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him," Isaiah 30:18.
The things of this life will wear on us. No one is exempt from the trials of life. No matter what is going on, God is faithful. "Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds," Psalm 36:5. "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness," Lamentations 3:22-23. The faithfulness of God cannot be measured. He will do what He said He would do. For those of us whom the Lord has saved, we find great comfort from the Scriptures. When we are bombarded by the things of this life, we must go to the Scriptures. The Scriptures tell us of God's faithfulness.
God is faithful to all who love Him, but He is also faithful to those who hate Him. Again, God is faithful to do what He said He would do. "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death," Revelation 21:8.
All who hate God will suffer the torments of hell for eternity. You may say you do not hate God, but what do your actions say? We are known by the life we live, which is the fruits we bear. I call you to repent from your sins, and trust the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross for deliverance from the consequences of sin which is eternal torments in a devil's hell.
God is faithful to save all those who come to Him through His Eternal Son, Jesus Christ.
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast him out," John 6:37. Our God is faithful.
Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
