213 Great is Thy Faithfulness

Embedded in the heart of the Book of Lamentations is the pulse of God. A hurricane of destruction had descended on Jerusalem because her people had disregarded God’s warnings. The Royal City of God had become sinful, unfaithful to its covenant relationship with her Lord. Jeremiah understood the Babylonians were merely human agents of God’s divine judgment. Nevertheless, Jeremiah wrestles with the ways of God Who was dealing with His rebellious people, for they had become outcasts and perceived as rubbish in the nation (Lam. 3:45). In the eye of the roaring hurricane, amid loss, famine, and death, this fallen nation grows quiet for a moment. The nightingale begins to sing and a moment of quiet hope dawns. Jeremiah reflects on God’s faithfulness, His constant renewal of divine favor, impelling him to assert, “Great is Thy faithfulness.” 

The prophets had forewarned Judah of impending judgment for 200 years (2 Ki. 24:3, 21:12), but she had become deaf. Her appetite for fleshly desires eclipsed her faith, giving her a false sense of security. Moses, a man of God, led the Israelites to the promised land. Their law: The 10 Commandments, written in stone by the Finger of God, and given to Moses at the Burning Bush. The seed of rebellion grew like a weed among the people. The nation had become deaf to the prophets’ warnings, there was no king in Israel (Judg. 17:6). Like the Israelites, the pilgrims came to America in search of religious freedom. Her laws are based on God’s Word, the Bible. Like the Israelites, rebellion has taken root in our nation; we do that which is right in our own eyes. Like the Israelites, we have no king, for we have become our own king. We have become a nation adrift on the stormy seas of self-satisfying pleasures. Yet God remains firm in His faithfulness to us. Faithfulness is often translated as “firmness” or “steadfastness”. His faithfulness to us is firm, it is steadfast, it is great, permanent, secure, and reliable. Today the rain, tomorrow the sun. Today the storm, tomorrow the calm. Great is Thy faithfulness!

Your life reflects your faith. Where is your faith—in God or in yourself? When you encounter the storms of life, will you stand as a beacon of light, firm in your faith? Sin, despite all its allurement and excitement, carries with it a heavy weight of sorrow, grief, and pain. Oh believer, remain faithful to Him for “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father there is no shadow of turning with Thee.”