As we celebrate an incredible 38 years of ministry at City of Life Church, I can't help but be in awe of God's amazing faithfulness that has allowed us to reach this milestone. Every single week for 38 years, we have witnessed God's unwavering faithfulness guiding and sustaining our church. This series will not only explore the depth of God's faithfulness but also how we can emulate that beautiful attribute in our own lives. After all, being faithful is the most pleasing thing we can do for the Lord.
God's Faithfulness Revealed in Creation
One of the profound ways we see God's faithfulness is through the wonders of His creation all around us. Romans 1 teaches that everything we need to know about God is clearly revealed through nature and our own conscience. People often claim they need more evidence or information to believe in Christianity, but according to this scripture, they are actually suppressing the obvious truth that a Creator made this amazing universe.
Just look at the world around you - the rising sun, the north star providing guidance, the cycle of warmth allowing life to thrive, and the incredible workings of our bodies from our minds to our beating hearts and breathing lungs. All of creation screams of an intelligent, powerful, and incredibly faithful Designer. Those who claim it all came about by random evolution are suppressing the plainly revealed truth of God's hand in creation. There is no excuse for anyone to miss the evidence of God's eternal power, divinity, and beautiful faithfulness surrounding us through His wondrous creation.
His Faithful Character
Not only do we see God's faithfulness proclaimed through the natural world, but it is also an integral part of His perfect character and nature. The Psalmist declares, "Your word is forever settled in heaven...Your faithfulness endures to all generations" (Psalm 119:89-90). What an incredible truth! God's word, His promises, are already settled for eternity in heaven. They are sure, unchanging realities because of His faithfulness throughout all generations.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us to "hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23). We can stake everything on God's promises because He will never, can never, break a single one. As Numbers 23:19 states, "God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?" The resounding answer is no! God's character is completely faithful and true. We can trust every word, every promise from our unchanging, dependable Lord.
Our Faithful God in Our Weakness
Perhaps my favorite aspect of God's faithfulness is seeing it manifested in the midst of our own weaknesses and inabilities. The apostle Paul provides such a powerful testimony of this in 2 Corinthians 12. He speaks of a "thorn in the flesh," a persistent struggle or limitation that tormented him. Three times he pleaded with God to remove it, but God's reply was clear: "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."
Paul's response is so profound: "Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me...for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:9-10). Do you see it? In our areas of weakness, failings, and inadequacy, God's strength and faithfulness shine most brilliantly! When we are weak, He is strong. When we are struggling and insufficient, His all-sufficient grace and faithful power uphold us. What a picture of God's amazing, unfailing faithfulness in the midst of our struggles.
2 Timothy 2:13 sums it up: "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." Our God is so faithful, so true to His word and character, that even when we are faithless and struggling, He cannot be unfaithful. His beautiful faithfulness is unchanging, perfect, and everlasting.
Clinging to His Faithfulness
There are undoubtedly times in our lives when we feel let down, when circumstances seem contrary to God's promises and lead us to doubt His faithfulness. But we must realize that our doubts merely reveal our limited understanding, not any failure on God's part. As I reflected on Revelation 19 portraying Christ as the "Faithful and True" One, I was struck by this truth: Every person who has ever felt God failed them simply did not grasp the depths of His faithfulness worked out across eternity.
You see, in those darkest moments of suffering, struggle, or feelings of abandonment, God was still working out His faithful purposes, though unseen to us at the time. The incredible vision of Revelation 19 shows that in the end, after all has been accomplished, Jesus will still be proclaimed as "Faithful and True." Every promise, every word, will have been fulfilled to absolute perfection. Our God is that amazingly, stunningly faithful!
So I encourage you, my friends, to cling to and declare God's faithfulness this week, this month, and this year. No matter what difficulties, setbacks, or feelings of doubt you may face, make a fist and boldly proclaim, "God is faithful!" Let it become a declaration of the beautiful, unwavering truth upon which you stake your life and faith. Our Lord has bound Himself by His very character to be forever faithful to you. He has never failed you, and He never will. That is the unshakable promise you can hold with absolute confidence.
In the weeks that lie ahead in this series, I look forward to unpacking more about how we can reflect God's breathtaking faithfulness in our own lives. But for now, join me in simply celebrating and clinging to this life-giving truth: Our God, our precious Savior Jesus Christ, is forever faithful and true. His beautiful faithfulness is our firm foundation!
