The faithful ways of God are the sure ground of well-placed confidence and security.
Where is my next meal coming from? That is an important question on the mind of every human being. The question arises several times a day, every day. It is a question directly related to our relationship with God. Do we trust him?
Do we trust him enough to give us not only our next meal but the money we need to buy everything else we need. How secure we feel about food, money, and shelter says much about our faith and knowledge of God.
On a boat, with the boys, short on bread
For example, Jesus once took his 12 disciples on a boat ride, and they did not bring enough food. It did not take long for the hungry disciples to realize it and start talking. Hey guys, where’s our next meal coming from?
Jesus did not join in their anxiety. He knew his heavenly Father, and so he had zero doubt about their next meal. With that confidence he asked the disciples:
“‘Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ They said to him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ And they said to him, ‘Seven.’ And he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’” (Mark 8:17–21 ESV)
Jesus followed a simple line of reasoning. Guys, God was able to feed 5,000 people using only five loaves of bread, and there was lots left over. And he was able to feed 4,000 people using only seven loaves of bread, and there were baskets full left over. Do you think he is able to feed the 13 of us?
We see why Jesus questioned the condition of their hearts, memory, and spiritual sight and hearing.
God is proud to be faithful
The Lord takes rightful pride in himself. One quality he is proud of and intent on proving to every person in heaven and earth is his faithfulness. Through the drama of mankind on earth, God is displaying he is perfectly faithful.
He is faithful to his words and promises. He is faithful to his own character and holiness. God is faithful to his people, to give his people their daily bread and other necessities. He is faithful to save, heal, and rescue. He is faithful to protect. The Lord is faithful to his covenants. He is faithful to lead, to comfort in times of sorrow and pain, to lead on the chosen path, to restore and establish, to bless in every imaginable way. All in his time and inscrutable ways.
Therefore he takes everyone who follows him through experiences meant to teach us not only in our head but in our heart that the Lord is faithful in all things. God took Jesus and the 12 disciples through these tests. He took the Israelites through such tests in the wilderness immediately after delivering them from Egypt. He took the apostle Paul through them.
The apostle Paul aimed to be faithful like God
Paul learned the lesson well. He once wrote the Christians in the church of Corinth, “As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No” (2 Corinthians 1:18). In other words, God does not flip flop, and neither do I. God is faithful to his words, and so am I. God does what he says he will do, and so do I.
“As surely as God is faithful”—nothing is more sure than that. God cannot contradict his character. He cannot lie. He cannot fail. The Lord is perfectly trustworthy.
Paul continues: “The Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.” (2 Corinthians 1:19–20 ESV)
In other words, Jesus Christ did not flip flop either! He did not vacillate between Yes, No, Maybe, and back again to Yes. The words and actions of Jesus consistently affirmed the promises of God. Everything God promised, Jesus did. Every prophecy of the Old Testament, Jesus fulfilled. Jesus could read through every paragraph of the Old Testament and say over and over again: Yes! Amen! So be it! I will do it! As it is written, so I speak! Yes! Yes! And Yes!
Amen
Paul continued, “That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” (2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV)
Amen means to express agreement.
So Paul was saying: The life of Jesus was a consistent yes and Amen to God, and likewise my life is a consistent Amen to God through my trust in Jesus Christ and his words. Everything about my life displays the faithfulness of God. I make my plans and decisions counting on his faithfulness. I build my priorities on his faithfulness.
All my hopes, peace, and security rests on the certain truth that God and his words are faithful.
Amen!