by Robert Fudge

To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, 26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. 27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. 28 You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. 29 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.

The more we become like God, the more we can actually understand about God. When we are faithful and our hearts and lives are pure and blameless we better understand the real nature of God. This is another of those cycles that we find in our lives. The more we understand and appreciate the nature of God, the more we want to become like Him. The more we become like Him, the more we want to and do understand about Him. When we rebel against Him or become haughty toward Him, we learn the hard way about the nature of God. He brings us down.

God is faithful. If you want to be disappointed, just put your trust in another person. Sooner or later they will let you down. I have so many regrets where I feel I have let others down throughout my life. I have felt the pain when others let me down. But no matter what happens to me or around me, I can know that God is faithful (by His very nature) and He will never let me down. That means when I need forgiveness; God “is faithful and just to forgive us all our transgressions” (1 Jn. 1:9). As His child, I can ask and know that he is faithful to forgive. When I need strength; “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13). When I need comfort; He is “the God of all comforts” (2 Cor. 1:3). When I am lonely, I can know that God “will never leave you or forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). When my heart overflows with joy and thanksgiving, He is the only one who is worthy of praise. In Him I “live and move and have our very being” (Acts 17:28). You see, God is faithful.

When I truly humble myself before God, He will lift me up and I can “scale a wall.” O how I limit myself so much because I don’t submit to Him. I am “too tired,” so I don’t serve Him. I am “too busy,” so I don’t work for Him. I just “don’t know enough,” so I don’t try to lead others to Him. I am “too good,” so I don’t show compassion or love. I am “right,” so I don’t show forgiveness to others. When I humble myself before God, I finally realize it is not about me! It is not about how I feel. It is not about what I know. It is not about being right. It is about knowing His forgiveness. It is about knowing His love. It is now about God living in me! It is now about Christ living in me! It is now about the Holy Spirit living in me! Phil 2:13: "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." This morning, let’s each of us make a new commitment to Him by humbly submitting to His will for our lives. Remember the next time we begin to think “I just can’t …,” if it is His will, He will empower us and we can do His will. My prayer today is that each of us will know Christ and the power of His resurrection. May God bless you today as you live for Him.