God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? [Numbers 23:19 (NLT)]
I will look up for there is none above you;
I will bow down to tell you that I need you.
Jesus, Lord of all; Jesus, Lord of all!
I will look back and see that you are faithful;
I look ahead believing you are able.
Jesus, Lord of all; Jesus, Lord of All!
[I Will Look Up (Redman, Ingram, Joye, Brown, Brock)]
In our family, the car’s driver controls the music. Since my husband usually drives, that tends to be ‘50s and ‘60s rock. My thrice weekly chiropractor appointments, however, have given me the opportunity to listen to worship music rather than golden oldies. Last week, while alone in the car, I joined with Elevation Worship as they sang of laying the worries of the world, the needs of their loved ones, their hopes and dreams, and every anxious thought at God’s feet. “I will look back and see that you are faithful; I look ahead believing you are able!” Those words are so true and yet I frequently forget to look back to God’s past provision or ahead with trust that He is able to provide exactly what is needed.
Singing, “All my life is in your hands,” I wondered if we truly believe that. After laying our worries at His feet, do we ever doubt His faithfulness and ability, pick them up, and take them back again? Do we have reservations about our incredibly faithful and overwhelmingly able God because we know how fallible and incompetent we often are? My life is filled with a series of mishaps, misunderstandings, and failures and I suspect yours is, too. We misplace our phones and have to call ourselves to find them. We read the words “dry clean only” but toss the sweater into the washer. We proof-read a dozen times only to find mistakes in the finished product and write grocery lists but leave them at home. We miss appointments, arrive late, and don’t return calls. We mean to do a task but forget and often claim to know what we’re doing when we haven’t a clue. We promise but disappoint, plan but fail to carry out, and our repairs frequently make the problem worse. We say we’ll pray for someone and don’t, intend to write a letter but never get around to it, or get exasperated when we mean to be calm. That’s not even mentioning the other assorted betrayals, deceit, debacles, and transgressions of which we’re all capable. Knowing how incredibly unreliable and faithless we can be, we often doubt God. God, however, is perfect—we, most certainly, are not!
Hearing the words, “I will look back and see He is faithful,” I did just that. I looked back and saw God’s faithfulness to me in every crisis and dark valley I’ve encountered. From Genesis through Revelation, we see God’s faithfulness to His children and, in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus we see His promises fulfilled. Flawed beings that we are, we’re often unfaithful to our promises or unable to fulfill them but our perfect God is both faithful to His promises and more than able to fulfill every one! Although I’ve failed the ones I love and, at times, they’ve failed me, God never has and never will!
Devotions of the Heart 