October 30, 2013

My Redeemer Is Faithful and True

By Steve Hearts

Upon waking up this morning I felt overwhelmed by the unresolved situations my family and I are facing. There are financial challenges, family matters that have yet to play out, an uncertain housing situation, etc. I felt the way one must feel when walking through a long, dark tunnel. “When is it going to end?” I inwardly wondered. “How are things going to turn out?”

In an effort to boost my faith, I took time to praise the Lord and listen to the song “My Redeemer Is Faithful and True” by Steven Curtis Chapman.

As I look back on this road I’ve traveled,
I see so many times He carried me through.
If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in my life,
My redeemer is faithful and true.

My redeemer is faithful and true.
And everything He has said He will do.
And every morning His mercies are new.
My redeemer is faithful and true.

It was then that my mind began strolling down memory lane, recalling the times God had proven faithful and true, despite the uncertainty we’d felt in the beginning.

I remembered when our electric bill was sky-high a couple of years ago. We had no idea how we’d come up with the money needed to pay it off on time, so we took the situation to the Lord, reminding ourselves and each other that He was in control. Only two days or so after we’d prayed, I received an email from someone who regularly supports our missionary work. She had extra money from a tax refund that she wanted to give us. Thanks to this gift, the bill was quickly paid.

Back when I was eleven, we went on an extended mission trip from California to Texas. Not long before we were supposed to return to California, my brother severely injured his hand with an electric saw. Surgery was needed immediately, but we had no medical coverage in Texas or the funds to travel back to California where we were covered. Needless to say, we hit our knees. Thanks to the financial help of family and friends, my dad and brother were able to quickly fly back to California. The surgery was successful!

While living in the U.S., we had three different vehicles stolen over a period of several years. Each time, the police were not hopeful about the possibility of recovering them. Nevertheless, as a testimony to the power of prayer and the Lord’s precious faithfulness, all three vehicles were found just days after they were stolen.

As I recalled these events while listening to the song, the Lord spoke to me. “Did I fail you in any of these past incidents?”

“No, Lord, You didn’t.”

“Then what makes you think I’ll fail you now, O you of little faith?” He spoke this not in a condescending way. His tone was reassuring.

It became clear that I’d been allowing myself to forget God’s past faithfulness, love, and care, which explains the reason for the apprehensive state in which I’d woken up. The Lord showed me that regularly reminding myself of the love and faithfulness I’d been shown in the past would serve as a good faith booster during times when the future doesn’t seem so bright.

The children of Israel’s unbelief in God was rooted in their failure to take into account all the divine love and care He had shown them. “They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them.”1

When reflecting on the past, I tend to dwell more on the negative than the positive. But thanks to my morning walk down memory lane, this is about to change. In anxious, uncertain moments, I will now strive to look back on God’s past faithfulness to me, and will remind myself, “My redeemer is faithful and true.”

1 Psalm 78:42 KJV.

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