03. Great is Thy Faithfulness -- Viewed

(photo by Tara Gourley)

“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father!  
There is no shadow of turning with Thee; 
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not; 
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.”
As I return to the familiar lyrics of this hymn, I cannot help but think of “faithful,” as it is seen today. When it isn’t used to describe God, it is often used to describe a spouse or a boyfriend/girlfriend, meaning they are true, and that they haven’t given their love or themselves to someone else. It means you can trust them. It means that they love you enough, and have enough integrity, that you never have to worry about them leaving or abandoning you. When I think of God as faithful, I am incredibly comforted. The God that crafted the universe loves me … enough to stick it out with me and help me as I slowly work through my numerous problems. He isn’t going to leave me, and He is going to do whatever it takes to keep me from leaving Him. Where He is faithful, I am faithless. I go out on dates with pride, fear, anger, “busyness,” laziness, and all the other guys, and I’ve left Him to wait up for me with a breaking heart. I put other things before Him. I take Him for granted. I yell at Him. I flat-out ignore Him.
And He still loves me, faithfully.
What did I ever do to deserve His love? Nothing. I’ve done everything to deserve losing it, actually, but still, He loves me. His love never changes. He has compassion for me. He looks at my hair, rumpled from a sleepless night; my eyes, clouded with worry; He watches me in the very act of doubting Him, and still, He calls me beautiful. It’s not that He is oblivious to my wrongdoings. He doesn’t pretend they’re not there. He sees them, He knows them, and they crush His heart … but He bore them on the cross for me. So when He looks at me, He looks at me with forgiveness; He sees me as redeemed; beloved. And nothing I could do would change His love for me.
“Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, 
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide, 
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, 
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!”
An unfaithful sinner who breaks His heart at least every other day … and He still spoils me silly. Every blessing, He gives to me. Forgiveness, peace, His presence, guidance, strength, hope … He holds nothing  back from me. I am left in shock, having brought no gift for Him, and He looks at me, and calls me “enough.” His grace is sufficient. (2 Corinthians 12:9) All He wants is me, running recklessly into the arms of my Lord and His will for my life, for all to see.
“Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness, 
Morning by morning, new mercies I see; 
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided --
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me! Amen.”
1) How does God view me? (via her)
Through His blood, through a ridiculous amount of love, through grace, and through salvation. Whether I think I deserve it or not, He loves me wild.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” - Ephesians 2:4-8

Comments

  1. AmandaJanuary 27, 2014 at 4:23 PM

    GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS, indeed. <3

    Yes and amen! :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

May this place be a home and a haven.

Popular posts from this blog

Dear Ann {Coffee for Your Heart}

Image
This week's prompt from Holley Gerth is "Who inspires you?" Simple enough, but I didn't just want to say some names and leave it at that. I chose one who has profoundly impacted my life, and I wrote her a letter. She may never see this post, but I am posting it anyway.  (image via Google)            Dear Ann , You may or may not remember me. I don't know if I want you to or not. I emailed you as a girl a little younger, and a lot less secure. I emailed you in tears, and you replied in love. But at that point, you had already inspired me. I pulled your book off my mother's shelf, on a happy and altogether forgettable day ... I didn't journal that day, so that's all I know. I had stopped journaling when life stopped sounding prettier on paper. And I'd long forgotten why it was worth the fight. The pages of that book witnessed a journey ... one that still blows my mind. We left the church I called home; a place that I had so deeply based my ...
Read more

Be Encouraged {Coffee for Your Heart}

Image
(Photo by  Anna Hart ) This week’s writing prompt from Holley Gerth is: “What are the encouraging words you want to hear when you’re having a hard day?” I have been so blessed by my circle of friends. Their words often surpass anything I could think up. It is hard for me to think of the prompt as it is written, so forgive me if I adapt on it. I’m going to give the encouraging words I want my closest friends to hear on their hard days. And the Lord, being awesome as He is, often speaks into my heart, as I strive to speak into theirs. So it’s similar, right? Anyhoo … Just stop. Drop everything, girl. I know, I know, it seems like the world never slows down. Just let it spin for a little while without you. Sit down. Kneel. If you keep running when you’re feeling like this, you will break. I know. I’ve done it. Remember when you helped me pick up the pieces? I know you’re trying to be strong enough; to just get through one. more. day. but none of us is truly strong enough...
Read more

You're Not Alone {Coffee for Your Heart}

Image
(via Holley Gerth ) (Photo by Tara Gourley ) This isn’t easy for me to talk about, but if people only talked about the easy stuff, this world would be in serious disarray--well, more serious. I’m going to be honest here; the type of honesty that requires trust, and that is something that I am still learning, slowly . I have felt alone. I have stood in the middle of a crowded room and have felt so desperately lonely that it nearly drowned me. This has happened in my own home. I have been prone to anxiety attacks. I’ve sat on the floor, feeling like the world is caving in, and have only recently learned to text someone I trust when this happens. I have laid alone in my bed and cried myself to sleep. I know these feelings, and I know how real they can seem; so real that everything else looks fake and twisted in comparison. I have hid in corners and let the lie consume me: I am alone. I wasn’t. And dear soul, you aren’t either. Do you hear me? You. Are. Not. Alon...
Read more