By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11:3
Have you ever gone to bed wondering if the world would still be whirling in space when you awakened the next morning? Ever wonder if the Earth could run into another planet? Or maybe you are the kind of a person who wonders if a meteor might land on the top of your house some night. No, relax, the possibility of anything like that ever happening is about nil. God has everything under control.
Perhaps you, like so many, never give it much thought; but what I’m really talking about is God’s faithfulness in sustaining the world in which we live. When God created our universe, He installed a system of checks and balances that keep our world operating in perfect precision.
One of the wisest men who ever lived once wrote about God’s faithfulness. His name was Jeremiah. He said, “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:2223). Certainly those words inspired Thomas Chisholm to write the words of a lovely old hymn. Remember, “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father! There is no shadow of turning with thee; Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not: As thou has been thou forever wilt be…. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”
It is so easy to take the faithfulness of God for granted. Take a look at your children as you tuck them into bed at night. Take a lingering look at your home. It may not be the best in the world, but it is home and it is yours. When you cash your paycheck at the end of the week, remember that your needs, and maybe some of your wants, have been met. God’s faithfulness to us should in turn inspire our faithfulness to Him and to our fellowmen.
God’s faithfulness centered in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. From the very beginning of time, God promised that His Son would come to earth. Paul said that when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son. To the very end of His life, Jesus was faithful to the mission that His Father had sent Him on. He said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). This is good news in a world filled with war, crime, drugs, fear, frustration, and pessimism.
Jesus was faithful to the very end, but when the end came, a faithful God had to turn His back on His very own Son as darkness descended at Calvary and the earth quaked. Because God turned His back on His Son, He will never turn His back on us. Maybe you have never given it much thought, but you have a responsibility to be faithful. It is your response to God’s faithfulness. Yours is the need of being faithful to God, and to your wife and children, and to your mission in life.
When Napoleon Bonaparte was crossing the Alps in the dead of winter, an avalanche caught a drummer boy and swept him across a steep crevasse. Quickly, the boy scrambled to his feet, hardly missing a beat and kept the drums rolling. Someone said, “Let’s stop and rescue the boy.” But the officers responded, “You remember Napoleon’s order the columns cannot stop.” And the long columns of soldiers marched and left the little drummer boy who was destined to inevitable death stranded across the crevasse. Hardened soldiers wept as the story was told around campfires. I hope yours is that kind of faithfulnessto God, to your family, to your responsibilities.
Resource reading: Hebrews 11:23-40.
