Summary: Mother's Day is especially painful when your heart is longing for a baby. So on this week leading up to Mother's Day, a week that feels difficult, impossible even, I imagine you might be feeling like the Psalmist in Psalm 77 when he says: “in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.” Maybe you feel far away from God. Maybe you feel like He is punishing you. Maybe you feel like He has forgotten to be gracious. Maybe you feel like His faithfulness has come to an end and that He is no longer compassionate. Spend the next few days with me as we diligently make an effort to remember the God we love and serve. Just like the Psalmist in Psalm 77 when, after his seemingly harsh lament towards God, says very decisively, “Then I said, ‘I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.’" (meaning I will call to mind all the ways I have seen Him work and what I know to be true from my past) and the psalmist goes on to say: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.” Let’s spend a few minutes together each morning this week intentionally remembering who God is and what that means for us personally. DAY 04 : GOD IS FAITHFUL Psalm 36:5, 7-9 "Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.” What does the truth that God is faithful, mean for me and you: First, what does it mean that God is faithful? It means that He is perfectly loyal, constant, true, devoted, unwavering, steadfast, dedicated, committed. So if God is faithful, committed, devoted, constant, unwavering and loyal that means I can trust Him to always keep His promises. That He will do what He has said He will do. He will accomplish what He sets out to accomplish. He keeps His promises. He promises to be my refuge and my strength. So that means that I can run to Him for refuge because I know he will always be there. I never have to doubt His constant presence. He promises that He will never leave me so that means I can go about my day knowing I am not alone in this. He promises to bring good from this heartache. That means I can joyfully search for the ways He is working to bring about redemption. He promises a future and a hope and an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading that He is guarding and keeping safe by His power so I can look toward the future knowing that my present circumstance is not the end. We see through human eyes and humanity is never perfectly loyal or perfectly committed or perfectly constant so it is difficult to imagine a God who is. But the truth is: His faithfulness is not fickle. It does not depend on our ability to love Him in return or our ability to live a faithful life. He is faithful because He is faithful -- His constancy and commitment is not dependent on how big our faith is or how good we are or how well we are handling our grief. It is because He is a good God who’s faithfulness is without measure. It reaches to the heavens. It has no bounds. There is nothing you could do or have done that would ever limit His faithfulness or His love towards you. And because His faithfulness never wavers you can trust Him to keep His promises. --- THE JOYFUL MOURNING COMMUNITY: www.thejoyfulmourningcommunity.com THE JOYFUL MORNING INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/thejoyfulmorning SHOW NOTES: www.themorning.com/specialepisode04
