Live IN and Live OUT God’s faithfulness

Mini Stonehendge – photo by Jill Rushbrook

“Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back. For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living—they praise you, as I am doing today; parents tell their children about your faithfulness.”

Isaiah 38: 17-19

I had been living in a first floor apartment of an old house built in the 1800’s that had charm, character, and was my home for nearly four years of my life. When I opened an email from the owner that said he had to sell the property and was going to put it up for sale in a month, I went into full panic mode. Although I had thought about buying a house, I had only been casually looking at homes for sale. All of a sudden my house hunting needed to get very serious and kick into high gear! Thankfully, I had a friend who knew a realtor and he went right to work, showing me houses and walking me through the process of becoming a first-time home buyer. I was on a very aggressive deadline and I feared that I would not be able to find a house in time. All the while, I felt God prompting me to put my trust in Him. One day, I found a house that had not been on the market long. My realtor actually knew the selling agent and he was able to get me to see the house right away. It was in my price range, had a lot of my desired “essentials”, and I knew this house was provided by God for me. I put in an offer and got the house!

Although this situation wasn’t the worst kind of suffering I have experienced in my life, it was certainly for my benefit in so many ways. God provided a home for me that is beautiful and exactly what I need, and I often recall this event in my life to remember His faithfulness. This moment in my life was stressful, yet God provided. More recently in life, God intervened during a time of betrayal and loss, showing his mercy, forgiveness, and love. He saved me from heading down a path that led to emptiness. He was right there and always has been there, even when I haven’t acknowledged or even ignored Him.  Although life is hard, with stressful surprises, hurtful heartaches, and scary scenarios, our God is faithful and his mercies are new everyday.  “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.”  Lamentations 3:22,23

The prophet Isaiah acknowledges that it is obviously only the living who can then tell of God’s faithfulness. He stressed, “The living, the living—they praise you…” This got me thinking that sometimes in our trials and troubles, we are only thinking of how we can get out of them, when we have two things to do…LIVE IN and LIVE OUT God’s faithfulness. Even in the midst of our own struggles, we need to recount and share God’s goodness, reminding ourselves and others of our God who keeps all His promises and will provide what we need (Philippians 4:19). My God has proven his love to me time and time again, not just in providing me a home. It’s time for me, the living, to live in God’s love, to worship Him for forgiveness I did not deserve, and to praise Him for the benefit that I know has already come from this suffering.  I have a job to do…to remember and recount God’s provision in my life. To live within His faithfulness and live out His love. To tell others of His story in my history.  Because I am still living and He lives in me. (Galatians 2:20) And because He is always working for my good and his promises are very much alive!