I was down to my last two dollars. It was during my third year on the staff of Student Venture/Campus Crusade for Christ and I was the director of the ministry in Riverside, California. It was the mid-1970s (okay, do the math and guess how old I am), and the economic times were much like today.
On a Thursday morning, I was scheduled to attend a monthly pastors' luncheon. I felt impressed that I should attend, but struggled with the fact that paying for lunch would take the last bit of money I had before my next paycheck. After some prayer, I finally decided to be obedient, go to the lunch, and trust God to provide whatever I needed.
I pulled into the parking lot of the meeting place and headed to the door. Just as I rounded the corner of the building, I ran into Father Dick Bellis, a wonderful Episcopalian pastor, who was coming to the meeting from the opposite direction. We reached the entrance at the same moment. Father Bellis put his arm around my shoulder and exclaimed, "A couple of months ago, I promised to take you to lunch. So, today is your lucky day. Lunch is on me."
Although this incident happened over 30 years ago, it is as vivid in my mind as if it happened yesterday. God had proved Himself faithful, and I learned a great lesson that day. God is faithful and I can trust Him.
When we ponder what God is like, we immediately think of God's love, God's mercy and justice, or God's sovereign nature and power. Yet, at the core of God's character is His faithfulness. In fact, I'm realizing that the prominent character qualities of God are greatly diminished without His wonderfully reliable "faithfulness."
Although God's faithfulness is clearly stated in other passages of Scripture, the author of Hebrews links God's faithfulness to a steadfast hope which can carry us through the dark days that come. "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23)
As I reflect on the valleys in my life since that incident in Riverside, it is God's faithfulness that has brought me hope and sustained me during the challenging times. In his book of Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah portrays the emotions of those who experienced the devastating decline of Jerusalem. Right in the midst of ruin, renewed hope springs up within his heart as Jeremiah looks away from his affliction and contemplates the faithfulness of God which leads to hope.
"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 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. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.'" Lamentations (3:19-24 NIV)
In 1923, Thomas Chisholm penned one of the greatest hymns regarding the faithfulness of God from this profound text. In stanza one he writes of God's unchanging character and unfailing compassions. The hymn continues by considering God's faithfulness in maintaining order in the universe and concludes by reflecting on God's faithfulness in forgiving our sins, providing strength for today and hope for tomorrow. Each stanza leads to the great culminating chorus that declares "Great is Thy faithfulness!"
As the uncertain future of 2012 unfolds, I pray that we might lean into God's steadfast faithfulness so that we can confidently proclaim this to be our personal testimony, "Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me." May the words of this hymn be a source of hope and encouragement to each of us today.
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 hast been, Thou forever will be.
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!