God's Faithfulness

Day 2, Anchors of Truth

If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:13 (ESV)

I graduated from high school convinced I wanted to be in full-time ministry as an overseas missionary, but I struggled finding a degree to pursue. Most women either worked with children or taught English classes in other countries, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to do either one of those.

         The following summer, I went on a mission trip to China. We traveled to the small villages in the mountains. In these sparsely populated areas, we made essential contacts for future missionaries, helped train the farmers in tiered farming practices, and prayer walked the towns. Sometimes we left a Jesus film in their language and prayed the gospel message ended up in the right hands.

         My summer was amazing; but it was also difficult. I accidentally drank the water during the first week and had an upset stomach and diarrhea the rest of the summer. In a five-week period, I lost 25 pounds. Many days I wondered if I’d make it home at all. I was so weak from being constantly sick.

By the time I arrived back in the states, my idea about the future began to shift. Overseas mission work wasn’t for me, so what in the world was I supposed to do with my life? I finished my Associates of Arts degree and was at an impasse. My parents told me that if I was living at home, I either needed a full-time job or to continue my education. I registered for the CNA program but quickly realized blood and guts were not for me.

But God. He already knew what he had designed me for. I volunteered with my college friends as a counselor at a children’s camp and fell in love with teaching. That week I was offered a job as a teacher’s assistant at a Christian school and I also registered for the nighttime elementary education program that was new to our community. Perfect timing by a perfect, faithful God.

God was faithful then and he has continued to be faithful still. I’ve always heard that hindsight is 20/20, and that is what I can attest to. Looking back, I can see God’s hand of faithfulness behind every decision, each crossroads, and every step. Often in the moment, I felt frustrated and unsure, but from where I stand now, God’s faithful hand is beyond evident.

As our opening scripture states, God remains faithful because he cannot deny himself. Like being good, being faithful is who God is and he cannot be the opposite. Like we learned yesterday, he works all things for our good, according to his purposes—not our own understanding.

Think back to the intersections of your life that led you to where you are now. Maybe it was confusing then, but how has God proven himself faithful now that you see it from the other side?

Do the Heart Work

1. How has God proven himself faithful in your life?

2. Do you see God as being faithful? Why or why not?

3. How has God been faithful in your classroom and school?

Digging Deeper

Read these verses about the faithfulness of our great God toward his people.

1.      God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Numbers 23:19 (ESV)

2.      He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (ESV)

3.      Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Psalm 36:5 (ESV)

4.      “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he. Deuteronomy 32:4 (ESV)

If You Get Spare Time

              Spend time in your journal or in prayer talking to God about whether you fully trust that he is faithful. Do you still have areas of doubt? Talk to him about that. Is he faithful in your classroom or do you wonder where he is? Ask him to show you how faithful he truly is.