One of my all time favorite hymns is, Great Is Thy Faithfulness. One of my all time favorite verses is 1 Thessalonians 5:24; “He [God] who calls is faithful, and he will do it.” I have watched God be faithful to people all my life. I have personally experienced the faithfulness of God more times than I can count.
But what about our faithfulness to our Creator God?
Lately, I have found myself thinking about how we fit into Creator’s plans, opposed to how the one who made everything fits into our plans. This week I’ve been thinking about how it is much easier to direct a moving object, than one that is not moving. If I feel stuck and stop doing what my current responsibilities are, I can miss the next “best” opportunity. When I faithfully attend to what is in front of me, I am generally ready and able when the next thing comes along.
Look at the water fall in the photo. It is really easy to redirect the flow. All one needs to do is place a rock in the right location and the water will find a new path, because it is moving!
By contrast, you can see your reflection in the pond below. It is still and the Lilly Pads multiply to the point it is nearly possible to walk across to the other side. The flowers are beautiful, and serve their purpose, however, they are not going anywhere. There is no energy to move them!
Stillness has its place in our lives! Our interior stillness helps us be aware of what God is doing both in and around us, but we are not to stay there all the time. Interior stillness allows us to flow in Creator’s purposes.
Just like we want to trust God, our Maker wants to trust us with small things first. As we prove ourselves faithful, He trusts with more, then more. . . . How can we be ready for new responsibilities if we can’t learn the current lesson in front of us now?
Some lessons take a long time to learn. There have been seasons (yes, plural) in my life when I cried out for God to move me. I wanted to get out of the extremely painful lessons I was learning, but I had more to learn where I was. Personal faithfulness, when the answer to prayer is “later,” is hard! It is also a great way to rub off some of our sharp edges. I began to ask Abba to help me learn the lessons so I could move along. Even with that, some things can only be learned through long-term faithfulness.
I know the One who thought of us before the world was formed is faithful! I also know I am not naturally faithful. The Good News is, God loves us infinitely and perfectly! And this same Maker never gives up on us.
Abba, Thank you for always being with us. I am grateful you never lose heart or give up on us. 2 Timothy 2:13 even says: “if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” Just because you are faithful to me when I have been unfaithful, I do not want to become lazy. I choose to move, with inner stillness, into Your flow so you can direct me as you choose! Help my faithfulness to grow daily. I want you to direct me like the waterfall. I will happily rest a while by the still waters, but then I choose to move along with You until you call me home to eternal rest! Amen
