Thoughts for the Day

Tag: God is faithful

  • Part 1: I Could Only See the Page I Was Standing On

    Part 1: I Could Only See the Page I Was Standing On

    Yesterday we looked at the lives of Moses, Gideon, Samson, Peter, Saul, and Manasseh.

    Different people.

    Different failures.

    Different stories.

    Yet every one of them shared something in common.

    At some point, it looked like their story was over.

    Moses was a murderer and a fugitive.

    Gideon hid in fear.

    Samson sat blind in a Philistine prison.

    Peter denied Jesus three times.

    Saul hunted Christians.

    Manasseh filled Jerusalem with bloodshed and idolatry.

    If we had stopped reading at those chapters, we would have reached the wrong conclusion about every one of them.

    But God didn’t stop writing.

    As I reflected on that truth, I couldn’t help but think about my own story.

    I’ve lived through chapters that felt like endings.

    I’ve walked through the pain of divorce.

    I’ve stood at an altar again believing life was finally being rebuilt… only to watch another marriage come apart.

    I’ve stepped away from a Sunday School classroom that had become part of my identity.

    There were seasons when I honestly wondered whether the best chapters of my life were already behind me.

    If you had asked me then what the future held, I couldn’t have answered.

    I could only see the page I was standing on.

    But God could see the whole story.

    Looking back now, I can see that He wasn’t finished.

    He wasn’t simply restoring circumstances.

    He was restoring me.

    Patiently…

    Faithfully…

    Quietly…

    He began healing places in my heart that I didn’t even realize were still broken.

    He opened doors to a ministry I never imagined.

    Instead of speaking to one Sunday School class each week, He placed a keyboard in my hands and opened doors to encourage people I may never meet this side of eternity.

    And in His grace, He also brought a relationship that reminded me what healthy love, trust, and genuine partnership could look like again.

    Not because my past disappeared.

    Not because every scar was erased.

    But because redemption doesn’t erase yesterday.

    It gives us hope for tomorrow.

    When I look at my life today, I don’t see someone whose story avoided heartbreak.

    I see someone whose story proves that God can write beautiful chapters after painful ones.

    That’s the beauty of redemption.

    God sees beyond the chapter we’re living in.

    Joseph’s prison wasn’t the end.

    David’s cave wasn’t the end.

    Jonah’s fish wasn’t the end.

    Daniel’s lions’ den wasn’t the end.

    Peter’s denial wasn’t the end.

    Paul’s persecution wasn’t the end.

    The greatest mistake we can make is assuming today’s chapter is the final one.

    Many of us have done exactly that.

    We’ve allowed failure to become our identity.

    We’ve let regret define our future.

    We’ve convinced ourselves that because we made a terrible decision—or because life simply fell apart—God has closed the book.

    But Scripture tells another story.

    Again and again, God meets people in their darkest moments—not to excuse their sin, but to redeem what seemed beyond redemption.

    If He could rewrite Moses’ story…

    If He could restore Peter…

    If He could transform Saul…

    If He could forgive Manasseh…

    Then perhaps He isn’t finished writing yours.

    As I write these words, I know something else.

    My story isn’t finished either.

    God is still teaching me.

    Still shaping me.

    Still redeeming parts of my life I once thought were beyond repair.

    Don’t stop reading too soon.

    The Author is still holding the pen.

    Tomorrow we’ll look at the moment that proved that truth forever.

    “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” — Philippians 1:6 (NKJV)

  • Before and After

    Before and After

    📖 “Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive Him… But He knoweth the way that I take…” — Job 23:8-10

    It started as an ordinary Thursday.

    You weren’t looking for your life to change.

    You were just going to work.

    Going to the doctor.

    Going home.

    Then one conversation.

    One phone call.

    One sentence.

    …and suddenly your life had a before and an after.

    At first, it didn’t seem real.

    Surely there had been a misunderstanding.

    Maybe the tests were wrong.

    Maybe they meant someone else.

    Maybe tomorrow would somehow put everything back the way it was.

    But tomorrow came.

    And so did the questions.

    “What happens now?”

    “How am I going to get through this?”

    “What if everything changes?”

    The future that once seemed so certain suddenly became filled with uncertainty.

    The plans you had carefully made no longer seemed guaranteed.

    You found yourself lying awake at night, replaying conversations, imagining outcomes, searching for answers that refused to come.

    So you did what believers have always done.

    You prayed.
    You searched the Scriptures.
    You waited.
    You listened.

    And if you’re honest…

    heaven seemed painfully quiet.

    Not because you stopped believing.

    Not because you walked away.

    But because you couldn’t understand how God could feel so silent when your world had become so loud.

    Job understood that feeling.

    He searched in every direction.

    Forward.
    Backward.
    To the left.
    To the right.

    Everywhere he expected to find God…

    he found silence instead.

    Yet in the middle of his searching, Job spoke words that have comforted weary hearts for thousands of years.

    He didn’t say, “Now I understand.”

    He didn’t say, “Everything is going to be all right.”

    He didn’t even say, “I know where God is.”

    He simply declared what he knew to be true.

    “But He knoweth the way that I take.”

    What a remarkable statement.

    Job couldn’t see God.

    But he believed God could still see him.

    He couldn’t trace God’s hand.

    But he trusted God’s heart.

    Maybe that’s exactly where you are today.

    You’ve looked in every direction you know to look.

    You’re still waiting.
    Still praying.
    Still hoping.
    Still wondering.

    If that’s your story…

    hold on to Job’s.

    Your ability to see God has never determined His ability to see you.

    He knows where you are.

    He knows what you’re carrying.

    He knows every question you haven’t spoken aloud.

    He knows every tear that no one else has seen.

    He knows every burden you’ve tried to carry by yourself.

    And even if today you cannot say, “I know the way He is taking…”

    you can still rest in this unchanging truth:

    But He knows the way I take.

  • Faithful Still

    There’s a song that’s been rolling around in my head since my feet hit the floor this morning. The first verse and chorus go like this:

    When my heart is racing deep within my chest
    When I’m underneath the weight of anxiousness
    When my fear is raging and I can’t catch my breath
    I will remember

    You are faithful still
    You have carried me through the deeper waters
    Walked beside me through the fire
    Faithful still
    You have closed the mouth of bigger lions
    Conquered even greater giants
    Gone before me, and You always will
    You are faithful still

    And it’s true. Even when we struggle with our own faithfulness to Him—fighting giants, facing lions, overwhelmed in deep waters, struggling to keep our heads above the waves as the tempest rages—He’s there. Faithful Still.

    Time after time, God promises in His Word that He will be faithful in so many ways, and I’d like to explore some of them here.

    He is Faithful in Our Trials

    Though life’s circumstances often rock our boat and the winds of uncertainty blow, Scripture repeatedly reminds us that God is faithful to His promises. Even as Jeremiah suffered under the horrific conditions of Babylon’s siege and occupation, he wrote:

    “This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope… His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:21-23)

    The psalmist tells us in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in time of trouble.” And Paul, who endured immense suffering for the sake of Christ, said in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

    No matter the size of the storm, God is there. Faithful Still.

    He is Faithful to Keep His Promises

    By all accounts, God made no fewer than 7,000 promises in His Word—and He is faithful to keep them all. People, even those closest to us, will make promises and break them, often breaking our hearts in the process. I know… I’ve been guilty of it myself.

    But Moses reminds us in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that He should lie… Does He promise and not fulfill?” Paul, in Romans 4:21, declares that he was “fully persuaded that what He had promised, He was also able to perform.” And Peter affirms in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promises.”

    Whatever the circumstance, the evidence is undeniable—He is Faithful Still.

    He is Faithful Even in Our Doubt

    We all have those moments—not doubting God’s existence, but His willingness to come through in time… to meet our needs… to save our loved ones… to heal… Hits home, doesn’t it? Or is it just me?

    No matter how many times He proves Himself, we still doubt. Yet Isaiah reminds us in Isaiah 59:1, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.”

    Paul urges us in Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” And David, in Psalm 94:19, writes, “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.”

    Even Peter, called by Jesus to step out of the boat in the middle of the storm, took his eyes off the Master and began to sink beneath the waves. But when he cried out for help, Jesus responded—not with condemnation, but with a question:

    “Why did you doubt?”

    Even when we doubt, even when we wonder if He’s even listening—He is Faithful Still.

    He is Faithful When We Stumble

    It’s happened to all of us. We’re walking along on our spiritual journey, and out of nowhere, something trips us up—a temptation, a mistake, our own stubborn pride.

    David, who had his own share of failures, writes in Psalm 37:23-24, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord… though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down.” Micah declares in Micah 7:8, “Rejoice not against me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall arise.” And Paul reminds the church at Philippi in Philippians 1:6, “He who began a good work in you will complete it.”

    So even when we stumble and fall flat on our faces, God is there. Faithful Still.

    Regardless of where you are in life—your circumstances, your doubts, your struggles—God is always there, His hand reaching out just as it did for Peter. Because He always has been, still is, and always will be…

    Faithful Still.

  • Standing Firm in Faith

    1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (NKJV)
    “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

    In these two verses, the Apostle Paul provides a profound reminder that our spiritual journey is fraught with challenges and temptations, yet it is also enveloped in God’s unfailing faithfulness.

    “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” This exhortation encourages us to remain humble and aware of our weaknesses. It’s easy to feel secure in our faith and stand tall in our own strength, but it is precisely during these times that we must be vigilant. Acknowledging our human vulnerability allows us to rely not on our own strength, but on the grace and power of God.

    As we reflect on this warning, let’s consider areas in our lives where we might feel strong or self-sufficient. In those moments, prayerfully ask God to give you humility and a deeper reliance on Him. This is not a call to live in fear of falling but an invitation to cultivate a life rooted in dependence on God’s strength.

    The following verse provides a comforting assurance: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man.” Here, Paul emphasizes that we are not alone in our struggles. All human beings experience temptation; it is a universal aspect of the human condition. When we realize that others face similar challenges, it normalizes our experiences and fosters a sense of community. This recognition encourages us to reach out to fellow believers for support and encouragement, reminding us that we can bear one another’s burdens.

    Yet, the heart of these verses lies in the promise of God’s faithfulness: “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.” This assurance is pivotal. God understands our limits and does not place us in situations we cannot handle. His faithfulness assures us that our trials are under His sovereign control. In times of struggle, take a moment to reflect on this promise. Trust that God is aware of your situation and is preparing you for victory even when challenges arise.

    Finally, Paul reveals the divine provision: “but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Each temptation comes with the promise of escape. God does not merely leave us to fend for ourselves; He provides a way through, whether it be strength, wisdom, or a path of avoidance. Actively seek the “way of escape” God provides when faced with temptation—this could come through prayer, scripture, or the wise counsel of trusted friends.

    As you navigate your journey of faith, remember the importance of humility, recognize that you are not alone in your struggles, trust in God’s faithfulness, and be diligent in looking for His provision during times of temptation.

    May this reflection deepen your understanding of God’s provision in times of struggle, encouraging you to stand firm in faith and reliance on Him.

    Prayer
    Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithfulness and the assurance that I am never alone in my struggles. Help me to remain humble and vigilant, always turning to You in times of temptation. May I trust in the ways of escape You provide, and may my life reflect Your glory as I navigate the trials of this world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.