1 Kings 8:56 “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.”

God’s faithfulness is one of the strongest themes running throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. You could say that the whole saga of mankind is of God’s faithfulness and man’s unfaithfulness, or at least his weakness. That comes into particularly sharp focus with the physical descendants of Abraham, to whom Solomon is speaking here. From our perspective today we tend to think, how could they do that? Actually, we are no more reliable than they were. We all need to keep a clear understanding and grasp of our own inability to get it right on our own, so that we will turn to God to receive the help we need to follow Him. Human free will has got to be the most valuable thing in the created universe, because God sacrificed His own Son rather than violate that free will. We are able to choose to follow God in obedience, but we don’t really have the strength to follow through on that choice on our own. That’s one of the mysteries of salvation. Just about the only thing we contribute to our salvation is the choice to accept it. However, that acceptance isn’t passive, it is actively following through to receive and act on all that God has provided for us in Christ. As keeps coming up throughout the Bible, God’s promises are generally conditional, and that condition is very simply, our choosing to believe and act on what He has said. If we will do that, we will find that He is every bit as faithful as Solomon here proclaims He is.

My life is a testimony to the faithfulness of God and a demonstration of the unreliability of man. More blessings have been poured out on me that I could possibly count. Some of those I have recognized and appreciated, and some I have squandered. Some I have realized how precious they were, and some I have taken for granted. I can say without hesitation that God’s grace is indeed amazing! The past three days have been packed with blessings, some of which will send ripples out far beyond what I can see now. My heart is full. At the same time, I am currently rather miserable physically from a head cold. This is further training in not ignoring the physical but certainly not fixating on it. God will get me through everything that’s on my plate today (and there’s a lot of it). I am to be active in fulfilling all my responsibilities, but at the same time rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, because, though my strength is not up to the task, His certainly is, and He is indeed faithful.

Father, thank You indeed for all You did in this trip. There were a number of distractions, but You enabled me to get my focus back on You. Help me keep my focus on You throughout today, and not on how I feel physically. May I have good first classes with my speech therapy students, as a good start to the school year. May I have good interaction with those I go visit this afternoon, to make up for my not having been here for my usual Wednesday morning rounds. May I have good understanding when the lady comes here after that for help with her mother’s tax affairs. May I indeed give Your glory by my obedience, for You are certainly worthy of all glory, honor, and power. Thank You. Praise God!