Faithfulness.
Obviously you could talk about marriage, friendship and more — but the faithfulness of God was what came to my mind.
I really wasn’t feeling like God was very faithful.
Right there this tells you how skewed my state of mind was. Instead of looking closely at how faithful I’ve been to Him, I wanted to criticize how faithful He’s been in keeping His promises to me.
In Exodus, God made the covenant with the Israelites on Mt. Sinai. The covenant He formed with them was both familiar and singular. Covenants between sovereigns and vassals occurred throughout the Ancient Near East; one such example was a suzerain treaty.
In a suzerain treaty the king would agree to protect an inferior group of people. He became their ruler and they agreed to follow him. The treaty would include stipulations which the lesser group must agree to. In the event that the covenant stipulations were broken, the agreement would be void.
5 Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Exodus 19:5-6
The Lord created a suzerain treaty with the Israelites; He would be their Lord and they would be His people. The difference between this covenant and the normal one was that God placed stipulations on Himself as well.
Imagine if the President ceased to be the President due to his failure to uphold the promises he made to the people.
As Christians, God has made promises to us. Through the covenant we enter into with Him — sealed by the blood of Jesus — we are His people and He is our Lord. The Bible is full of promises to us: protection, salvation, provision, wisdom, healing, the list goes on and on.
So, maybe it’s understandable that I began to feel a little entitled. Like a spoiled child, I threw a fit when I wasn’t getting my way. I forgot the mantra that I repeat to my children, “Little boys/girls who throw fits don’t get their way.”
I threw a fit that God allowed my grandma to get so sick.
I threw a fit that He allowed me to feel hurt and alone.
I threw a fit that life wasn’t happening according to the timeline I wanted.
You know what? It only made me feel worse.
I found myself feeling separated from God. I no longer enjoyed that intimacy with Him that is yet another promise to us Christians.
So I threw a fit about that too.
Thankfully God doesn’t treat me the same way I treat my children. He’s more generous, patient and understanding.
I’m not saying that throwing a fit made God change His behavior to me. I’m saying that in spite of my rotten attitude, God faithfully persisted in His normal treatment toward me.
This past weekend I took an unexpected trip. Throughout my travels I saw His hand so evident in my life.
He healed, He nourished, He strengthened, He spoke, He loved.
“Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.” Psalm 36:5
“21 This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. 22 The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13
He was faithful.
0 Responses
Melissa, I know what it means to be a “tardy” Blog Carnival participate. This week I tried to arrive on time :). I liked how you compared the way we discipline our children to God’s faithfulness towards us. Great post. Thanks for sharing!
God shows me so much about myself through my children. I think that’s why He gave me 4. I have a lot of lessons to learn. Haha!
Excellent post, Melissa. Open and honest, just the way God likes us… It’s so good to know that no matter what, He is faithful. Thanks.
I’m so glad it doesn’t rely on me. What’s interesting is that God’s faithfulness towards me on this trip home helped me to realize just how self-centered I’ve been lately. Instead of reinforcing my perspective that God is faithful when He’s answering my prayers the way I want Him to, He showed me how He answers those prayers in completely unforeseen ways. I didn’t get all the answers I wanted, but He showed me He loves me and is aware of the situations.
Sorry to write you another blog post. Haha!
We are all like disobedient children to a degree… but as parents we know that we love our children deeply…. no matter how ornery they’re acting. I guess it’s important to remember that God loves us in that same manner…
He is faithful!
Thanks for this honest post, Melissa. And you aren’t tardy… no worries.
Thanks Bridget! I’m glad I decided to contribute this week. God definitely used it to show me something. 🙂
This is such a beautiful post…I can identify with you here!
Thanks! It’s nice to know I’m not alone in this…
His faithfulness doesn’t mean he insulates us from life — all of it. Good post.
Thanks, Glynn. I guess if we’re insulated from life it means we’re also insulating ourselves from Him. In order to experience the joy and love I have to allow some pain and discomfort. But, instead of throwing a tantrum I can turn to Him for help. 🙂
Ugh, this is so good. I threw a lot of “ick” fits this past week or so myself.
Your post was so good…and just what I needed to hear! I’m so glad you wrote it. Thanks!
So, I relate to this post — and in particular, this line — Thankfully God doesn’t treat me the same way I treat my children. He’s more generous, patient and understanding.
God doesn’t treat me the same way I treat Him either!
thanks for this.
Great thought, Louise! I feel the same way.
Having kids has taught me more about God than I ever thought possible. I can throw some major fits. Fortunately, He handled them much better than I handle my children’s.
I’d be in permanent time-out if God treated me the way I treat mine. Which might mean I need to rethink my parenting. 🙂
Melissa,
Great and honest post, thanks for sharing your heart. The Father loves that transparancy and He is Faithful to restore us!
Peace,
Jay
Thanks Jay! You’re so right. Once we’re honest about where we’re at God is able to move us from there.
This really struck a chord with me. I’ve been known to have a few shouting matches with God. He so patiently waits for me to shut up. Color me humbled.
Haha! What’s interesting is when I finish shouting at God I realize just how miniscule and wrong my behavior is. This post is in response to the one previous where I felt frustrated with Him. It was like as soon as I said it out loud He showed me just how much He’s doing for me.
i find it so much easier to focus on the ways God’s seemingly been unfaithful to me rather than on all the ways He’s been so incredibly faithful. it’s hard to trust in His ways and thoughts, which are so much higher than mine. it’s hard to believe it’s really for my good when it feels everything but.
i’m discovering there’s a huge difference between faith in what God can do and faith in who He is.
i need so much more of the latter.
Oh! That’s so good! I too need to remember to make that distinction in my faith. Thank you Alece!