Faithful

Zeus. The quintessential face of canine faithfulness. This beloved companion carries the distinction of having saved the life of a family member by running for help, thereby earning a lifetime's worth of brownie points. How can we not say that his every action bespeaks noble faithfulness? When at my son and daughter's house, doing the Nanny thing, and I feed the baby, Zeus unfailingly follows me around, then lies down at my feet. When I walk the baby, he quietly dogs my steps. When I take the baby for an outside stroll, Zeus is right there by me. In every single way, Zeus is the epitome of a faithful companion, an endearing tangible picture of the nearness and faithfulness of our loving Creator. Many years ago Dennis ministered about the goodness and mercy of God spoken of in Psalm 23. I can see him now, looking behind him, first to his left and then to his right, as if looking for faithful companions (like Zeus!) that were trailing him. God’s goodness and mercy, he said, were ever with him, a constant reminder of God’s faithfulness. I was recently reminded of this, God’s faithfulness. A couple who were believing God for the restoration of a prodigal son waited not one, not two, not three, but eight long years for God’s promise that He would pour out His Spirit on their seed (Isaiah 44:3). And He, ever faithful, did just that. The prodigal came home--to his parents and to God. It’s so easy to see the grandeur of God and the faithfulness of His promises when we’re on the mountain top, but when we are in a valley of pain and spiritual testing, we have a very human tendency to focus on our negative circumstances. We tend to forget that even there, in what seems like a harbinger of the pains of hell, He is right there with us (Psalm 139:7-10). It is then, in the darkness of our life, that the mettle of our spiritual persuasion is truly tested. Will we, like the disciples that forsook Jesus when He spelled out the cost of discipleship, forsake Him? Or will we yet cleave to Him, knowing, as Peter did, that only He “hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68)? As a young lady barely starting out in life I began to experience debilitating pain on the entire left side of my body. The pain was so excruciating that the mere pressing of my fingers on the old-timey Olivetti typewriter on which most of my work for the magazine Voz en el desierto was done caused rivulets of pain to run up and down my left arm, which in turn sent corresponding capillaries of debilitating pain to the entire left side of my body. When I walked up the stairs that led from our hillside apartment to the area where Auntie’s little Datsun was parked, I had to take the steps one at a time. Moving laboriously like a very slow snail, I had to pray at every single stairstep for the strength to lift my leg to the next one. Working pro bono for a ministry of limited funds meant I had no insurance and very little money of my own. Going to a doctor seemed out of the question. How, I asked myself, could I continue functioning? That same week I found myself in downtown Cuernavaca, running an errand for the editor (my great aunt), when my heart suddenly seized in fear. As I walked painfully towards the post office, inwardly I cried out to God, wracked as I was with fear-inducing thoughts. What if I crumpled to the ground here in public from the pain? What if I actually died? And then, just like that, God’s Holy Spirit dropped a Word nugget into my heart.

“Though he slay me, yet will I trust him,” (Job 13:15). The words of the most afflicted man in the Bible (other than Jesus) instantly bolstered my faith. My back straightened. The conflict I felt (Why would God allow this affliction to torment me when I was in active service for Him in the ministry?) dissipated like fluffy wisps of clouds blown apart by winds high in the heavens, as by the very breath of God. And I knew that I knew that I knew that He had this. Even if I died, I could trust Him. Even if I suffered pain for the rest of my life, I could trust Him. He was with me and He would show me the path to take. He would make a way for means for a doctor, or He would touch my body. My heart lifted up and I soldiered on. A few days later, in a house meeting, we gathered round a chair to pray for a sickly saint (not me). At that very moment, Job 42:10 came alive in my own life: "And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends." As we prayed for the hurting brother, God touched my own pain-racked body and restored me to pain-free wholeness. He is faithful. In the good times of our life, in the bad times of our life, He is there. We might not always sense His presence (I’ve been known to turn and almost stumble into Zeus as he follows me quietly around), but He is there. And His faithfulness means that even if we don’t see it now, His Words and promises will come to pass. His goodness and mercy, whether we sense them or not, are with us every day of our lives. Don’t be discouraged by your circumstances. I promise you, they won’t last forever. But God’s faithfulness to His Word will.

“Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds” (Psalm 36:5).