God's Faithfulness

Isaiah 58:11

“The Lord will guide you always. He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land.

You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

As I write this, we ride yet another wrinkle in the now 5 month long ordeal of selling/buying houses, having come to the thresh hold of moving in only to find the process halted. Once again we are challenged to believe that the Lord guides us always. Always. “For His glory and our good,” as my mother prayed yesterday.

“Satisfy your needs.” This phrase to me communicates more than a mere meeting of a need. Any food can fill our stomachs, and yet it is a special joy when a meal truly satisfies. A hunger deeper than a physical one is assuaged, as a lingering dinner with precious friends when the room teems with laughter and hearts warm with love. Yes, God is able to satisfy our needs like that. What a wonderful thought!

And that blessing is magnified to realize that such satisfaction comes in the midst of a “sun scorched land.” Here in Virginia we look out at fields that have been blazoned by the blinding sun for weeks now with very little rain. The ground indeed looks scorched, parched, much as my soul feels dry, cracked and tired. It seems difficult to imagine those fields transforming into lush green new growth. Yet the Lord promises to do just that.

“And strengthen your frame.” A frame is the basic skeleton of any structure, the backbone to which all ligaments and muscles attach to. Any building is only as strong as its frame; any physically body is only as strong as its backbone. Dear Jesus, yes, please strengthen my frame! Fortify my life with your Word, your power, your Spirit and your Truth.

“You will be like a well watered garden.” What does that look like? A garden that has been tended and cared for is green and fresh, sprouting new growth and constant flowers. As weeks go by it continues to bear fruit, rather than being choked out by weeds or scorched by the sun. If I am the garden, then God is the gardener…sending the rain of His Spirit to nurture and nourish my life so that I may become “a spring whose waters never fail.”

A natural spring is a delightful find, somewhat a surprise and a welcomed sight. The water is cold and pure, a source of constant refreshment and pleasure. And to know that the water will never fail is reassuring. You can count on it always and go to it again and again. If my life is to be that way, obviously I need a source that is faithful and unfailing. Sounds like Jesus, and it reminds me of His statement that He is the living water. Those who drink of Him will never thirst again.

1 Peter 2:4-5

“As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

When the Israelites crossed over the Jordan – at flood stage mind you -- God gave them instructions to build an altar to commemorate the miracle.  They were told to pick up stones from middle of the river bed, marking the place where God rolled back the waters and brought them safely across.  This altar, these stones, were to be a sign for the nation and for their children – a testimony and  remembrance of the hand of Almighty God.

I find it fascinating that the stones were picked up in the middle of the river…signifying the deepest part, the greatest challenge, the highest level of difficulty during their passage.  God did not tell them to pick up the stones along the bank of the river which would have been easily visible and accessible.  No, He instructed them to gather these stones of remembrance from the most potentially dangerous part of their journey.

So it is with our journey of faith. 

Oh, there are times when I build an altar of praise from any rocks laying around – quick to set up a sign of what God has done for me.  However, the altars of remembrance that are the most significant in my life are built from boulders that were embedded in the mud of the deepest part of a flood-stage river.  Mud-caked hands and broken fingernails scraped and clawed and lifted those stones out of position and placed them with tears into a new position of testimony, reflecting the covenant of my God to care and provide for my needs. 

And when I see those stones, I am instantly reminded of His deliverance…and I am quick to tell the story to all who will listen!

I shake my head with amazement, then-- reading the passage from 1 Peter above—that we are like living stones being built into a spiritual house.   Certainly, He has dug His nail-scarred hands down into the mud and mire of sin and lifted us out of the pit.  Perhaps those of us who have been rescued from the deepest point sing the loudest praise.

As we submit our lives to the Chief Cornerstone, Jesus Christ the Rock, we become a living stone on an altar of praise bringing glory to His mighty name!

Other scriptures:  Joshua 4:1-7 ; Psalm 40 ;  Romans 12:1

She gave this name
 to the Lord who spoke to her: 
"You are the God who sees me."

Genesis 16: 13


Have you ever had something happen that you knew without a doubt was directly from the Lord?  I believe we all have - many, many times - the more appropriate question is if we recognized it!

I had such an experience this morning.  I do not have caller id on my phone, so I am totally dependent on my recollection of the individual's voice or their stating their name after I say, "Hello."  Well, this morning I received a call from a friend that I have not heard from in months.  In fact, it took me a few seconds to realize who was speaking.  We used to be in a Bible study together, and she and her daughter had taken piano lessons from me a few years ago.  She called just to ask how I was doing because the Lord kept bringing my name to her mind.  She felt such a strong desire to hold me up in prayer the last several days and had been doing exactly that.  So, she just called to see if I was ok.

Well, she had no idea what an encouragement that was to me!  It's rare that we call one another just to offer a kind word or to let someone know we're praying for them.

We talked briefly and got caught up on one another's lives.  God's faithfulness to both of us had been evident through answered prayer, and so we rejoiced with one another.  I told her that I had experienced challenges lately and really appreciated her prayers and encouragement.

When I hung up the phone I shed some tears of gratitude to the Lord.  How in the world would she have thought to call me today except by the nudging of the Holy Spirit?  She had no idea what was going on in my life, but my heavenly Father knew. 

Immediately this verse came to my mind - "You are the God who sees me."  Read it in context in Genesis 16 .  It tells the story of a seemingly insignificant woman, feeling used, abused, abandoned and forgotten.  God meets her in the desert - definitely an emotional desert as well as a literal one - and assures her not only of His presence, but His provision.  He even reveals to her the destiny that He has planned for her life.

Friends, our precious Lord does the same with us.  Regardless of how we feel, He never abandons or forgets us.  He cannot.  We are written on the very palm of His hand. 

Walk in peace today knowing that your God sees you and loves you.


Additional scriptures: Hebrews 13:5 ; Isaiah 49:15-16