God is faithful. That is one of the heartbeats of Scripture, a declaration that comes up over and over again, whether through the OT covenants or through Jesus’ faithfulness in going to the cross for us or in his return for his Bride in Revelation. The fact that God is faithful, though, is not just something declared or proposed, but something demonstrated (and especially at the cross). And I’m thankful that the fact that God is faithful is not just demonstrated in Scripture but that he continues to demonstrate it in my own life. That is a lesson in my sanctification that I continue to learn as my years of walking with Jesus increase. I started to dwell heavily on it when I came to seminary five years ago. I could at that time and still can point to periods of time in my life when I had been unfaithful to God’s commands and to my relationship with him, and yet I could always see alongside those times of my unfaithfulness his unwavering faithfulness. He was faithful to discipline me, to call me, and to love me to himself.This is obviously the most important way to see God’s faithfulness, but I’ve had other lessons as well.

I learned even more of God’s faithfulness as I went through seminary and into PhD work. He was faithful now not only to sanctify me but also to provide a job for my wife while I was in seminary and then for me when we decided to start having children. Through our parents and through the seminary, he provided for our family’s physical needs as well as for my education and for our housing situation. These are things that weren’t certain up until the very moment they needed to be taken care of – and yet he always provided.

I learned yet more about the faithfulness of God during my recent job search. I was so worried about finding a job after my PhD, constantly fretting over where I would end up and if I would be able to support my family. I must have filled out at least 50 applications – it was probably more like 100, but I lost count eventually – and even thought I had a shot at 3 or 4 because of people I knew at certain schools. But then CBU called, a school at which I thought I had no shot, and God proved again that he knew what was best for me and meant to take care of me and my family.

What I’ve learned about God’s faithfulness is that it is what motivated God to save me, what motivates him to continue to sanctify me, and what motivates him to bring me to Jesus in the end. It’s never been about me living in the power of my own faith, but about leaning on the faithfulness of God. I find it interesting that we so often push ourselves to have more faith – but I think all that really means is trust even more in God’s faithfulness towards you. That’s the hardest part, though, isn’t it? When something else comes along that tests your faith, you have to trust yet again. But whether we doubt or whether we increase in our own faith, God remains faithful to us.