April 8, 2016

God Remains Faithful

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. -- Deuteronomy 7:9

A dear friend said something last year that still resonates with me. It’s simple truth has helped me cope with things I never, ever expected.

Her words: When all this is over, you’ll find you can count the number of people you can depend on with the fingers of one hand. At the time, I thought she was exaggerating. Hindsight revealed she was totally right.

She’d been there. It was a different set of circumstances but she understood the devastation of sudden illness and the crushing role of sole caretaker.

Knowing all this has helped me accept the limitations of others. There are those that I knew I could count on in a crisis. I was wrong. They were the ones who showed up once. That was it. They did their duty.

I’m not talking about acquaintances here. I’m talking about close family and friends. People who were just too caught up in their own lives to be drawn into the crisis happening in someone else’s life. It was a hard lesson to learn at a particularly difficult time in my life.

Have you ever been let down by people you thought you could count on? It hurts, doesn’t it? People are not dependable. God is. Always.

I really thought my faith ran deep. I suppose compared to some others it did. But now these roots run even deeper. Storms have a way of doing that. I understand better how important it is to prepare for bad times while you are in good times because when the storm hits it takes everything you have just to hang on.

Sometimes I couldn’t focus on anything, but my mind would repeat memorized verses. I was comforted to know that when the only words I could find were “Oh, God!” , the Holy Spirit stepped in and asked God for what I didn’t know I needed.

God is faithful and loving. He never leaves us alone to face the storm. We know that. As believers, we do know that. But knowing it and living it are two different things. I am eternally grateful for His love and Presence when I needed Him most.