I recently had to to through a surgery that was so completely unexpected it left me in a way left shaken and questioning God. As I lay in the hospital recovering I read the Psalms, and the words ‘God’s faithfulness’ kept coming up again and again. So I began to study that topic starting in the Old Testament. And it has changed the way I see God working in my life as he did in the lives of the great prophets of the Bible throughout all times up till now, and I believe, to eternity.
In this whole lesson, the spot light is on God.
God is faithful as he has been since the beginning of times.
Noah - Genesis 6: 5-14, 17-20
God saw that the world was corrupt and full of violence that every inclination of the thoughts of man’s heart was toward evil. So God made a plan to change that and picked Noah, a righteous man, and told his pain and that he would destroy the world and everything in it except for Noah and his family. And as the story goes, God told Noah to build and ark and gave him an elaborate plan about how to build the ark (v15-17). God also instructed him to store every kind of food for the time of the flood. And when he was ready, God send the flood. The flood came some years later. But as he promised to Noah, the floods came, even though it was some year later, but Noah remained faithful and obeyed and God kept his promise.
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Abraham - Genesis 12: 1-4God called Abraham, out of his settled life and asked him to go a place, a land of promise. And Abraham obeyed and left his home. As years went by, on his journey, Abraham experienced God, spoke to him, loved Him and stayed faithful. In chapter 15 v1 says that the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’ And Abraham uses his position of favour with the Lord and tells him of his sadness about not having a child. Then God promised him that he would have a child of his own blood. But that child of promise came after 25 years and through those years, Abraham struggled those years out but stayed faithful to God. But God kept his promise.
Jacob - Genesis 28:10-19
Jacob the son of Issac and the brother of Esau, was fleeing from his father’s house to his uncle’s place because he cheated his brother and got his father’s blessings. He was afraid and alone as he made his long journey on foot. At that time on this journey, God appeared to him at a place called Bethel and told that on the very ground that he lay asleep that night, God would settle his descendents there. And in chapter 35v1-3, years later (maybe after 25 or more years) that promise was fulfilled after Jacob met his brother and made peace with him, he settled in the land of Bethel. But God kept his promise to Jacob.
Joseph - Genesis 37: 5-11
Joseph, the young son of Jacob, the 11th son and the youngest brother was rather spoilt by his father. One day he had a dream, a vision of greatness (those days God spoke through visions and dreams and in a way this was God talking to Joseph and his family of the future) and at the end of that narration, Jacob’s father kept these things in his heart. And as the story goes, Joseph’s brothers hated him for his dreams and eventually sold him as a slave to Egypt. Years later after about 22 years when Joseph had endured hardship and the pruning of his heart and character, in chapter 43 v 26-28 God fulfilled his promise to Joseph. Joseph became the second in charge of Egypt, next to Pharaoh himself, and his brothers did come and bow down before him. Years later, Joseph an old man about to die but had grown in his faith and trust in God, was able to tell his brothers that God would one day lead them out of Egypt and made them promise to carry out his bones (Genesis 50: 24-26) and in Exodus 13:19 that was also fulfilled.
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The Exodus of the IsraelitesAfter the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, we know how faithfully Moses led the Israelites in spite of all the grumbling, complaining and unfaithfulness. But God loved Moses deeply but also expected his complete obedience and Moses failed because of the people (as we may think). But just as God would not allow the Israelites to enter the Promised Land, so also Moses couldn’t because of his disobedience. Numbers 20:2-12 and Numbers 27:12-14. Even here God is faithful to Himself and did not have a different standard for Moses.
God does what he says without exception. The pages of the Bible are filled with stories and lives and experiences of God’s faithfulness.
God’s timing is different from ours
Scripture says that a thousand years to God is just like one day and one day is like a thousand years. This is something that I couldn’t grasp over the many years I spent as a Christian. But this study helped me to understand God’s timings.
Just as He is faithful, his timings have a weird sense (as we understand it).
This lesson helped me to understand that God is in no way working around our time lines and this is the call for me to trust His time lines. It has helped to be patient and wait on the Lord as the Psalmist says in Psalms 27:14, Psalms 33:20, Psalms 46:10.
- God told Noah to build an ark and as I read it, the rain was to come soon – say in a couple of months. But it came after a few years. And Noah saw with his eyes the greatness of God as the animals of all kinds came walking in twos to enter the Ark. What a sight! What glory to those who learn to wait on God’s time.
- Abraham was to have a child of promise from Sarah, who was really old (75 years old) according to you and me. I would like to hurry God on this one. But no! Issac was born after 25 years of waiting and being faithful.
- Jacob cheated his brother and ran for his life and while he was running, God made a promise to him that God would settle him in Bethel the same place he saw the dream of heaven opening and angels descending. And after about more than 20 years later, God fulfilled that promise.
- Joseph struggled as a slave, saw good times and experience the worst when he was accused of adultery with Potipher’s wife. He spent years in prison. He was a young boy of 17 when he was sold but only became the great man of power at the age of 40+. You and I can say what a waste of the youth. But God had something great in the making for those who wait on his time. Now at that time I do not think Joseph knew anything about what was to come. But he struggled in faithfulness and saw in God’s time the glory of his great God.
The challenge for us is to watch and wait in faithfulness just like our great spiritual ancestors did and to understand without doubt that God has a different time line. And as we groan and wait, let our hearts understand that He has something greater in store for his faithful people who WAIT ON GOD’S TIME. Amen!
