To Encourage You

1 Corinthians 1:9 “God is faithful.”

Unfaithfulness is a devastating sin, and the closer the relationship between those whom this sin effects, the more ruinous it is.  The book of Proverbs describes those who are unfaithful in fulfilling their duty in the workplace like this: “Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him” (Proverbs 10:26).  Such laziness, such unfaithfulness doesn’t only affect employers, however.  It can also have a devastating affect on a family.  God condemns such things in His children in no uncertain terms with these words: “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (I Timothy 5:8).  When parents are unfaithful and abandon their own children, which we see so often today, it can have devastating ripple effects throughout that child’s life.  And then there’s unfaithfulness in a marriage.  There is almost nothing more devastating to a person than when someone who has pledged to love and cherish them until death, turns against them to love someone else. 

In the face of all this, isn’t it an awesome thing to know that “God is faithful.”  His promise to meet all our needs (Philippians 4:19) is absolutely and utterly true, for He is faithful. His commitment to love us with an “everlasting love” is something we can stake our lives upon because God is faithful (Jeremiah 31:3). 

Yes, our God is wonderfully faithful.  So, when we doubt, when we fear, when we allow debilitating anxiety to fill our lives, do we realize that we are, in essence, accusing God of being unfaithful to us?  Do we understand that when we do this, we are accusing our righteous and holy God of being no better than men?  It is to this attitude that our Lord would have us know that “if we are faithless, He remains faithful— for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).  You see, though men may not trust Him, though they may doubt Him, though they may accuse Him of all kinds of wrong, the fact remains that “God is faithful.” What He has said, He will do. What He has promised, He will fulfill.  But if we don’t believe this, if we think He is no better than us, it is our loss in the end, for “God is faithful” whether we believe it or not.