Great Is Thy Faithfulness!

There is an Old Testament scholar, Gerhard Von Rad, who claims that the whole idea of faith for Israel came out of the dangerous contexts of war. Think about where Israel is geographically located. They were in the perfect bridge position between Europe / Asia and Africa. And they were always under threat from foreign powers. Everybody wanted that land. It was prime real estate. And they were constantly faced with threats just beyond their ability to cope.

Have you ever been in a place just beyond your ability to cope?

The Hebrew word for faith is Emeth – from which we get the word Amen. Amen means yes, it is so. So faith is a “yes” in the face of “no!” Faith is a “yes,” God is going to get us through this. Faith comes from the brink, from the edge of life, from the place where we are beyond our ability to cope.

The book of Lamentations in the Bible gives voice to this kind of faith. The book describes the hurt and anger and complaints of people devastated by war. It’s amazing that right in the middle of sheer heartache, we read these verses of praise, “But this I call to mind, and therefore have hope. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness!”

For thousands of years, people of faith have found this to be true: that even when you are at that place beyond your ability to cope, the place where you think you can’t possible deal with more thing – the place where everything feels like it is about to fall apart  – that even there God is faithful.

Let us pray: God we ask for upwelling hope that amid life’s joys and troubles, we would know, without a doubt, that you are present, that you are with us, and that you are faithful.  We turn over to you now any confusing or troubling issues that we face – and we ask for your mercy and your guidance. In Jesus’ name. Amen.