I woke up this morning and broke my normal routine. I didn’t go into the room where I have my Bible and Book of Common Prayer to do my Daily Office. Instead I sat in my office and picked up a guitar that had recently been gifted to me, and I began to worship.
As I sat quietly plucking strings and singly softly, I lifted my heart to the Lord of Lords. Songs blended together. Words of praise and adoration flowed. The presence of Christ was intimate, and the room was filled with a powerful presence of peace. As I worshiped, I was reminded of God’s faithfulness.
The first three words of our verse today are the core focus.
GOD IS FAITHFUL. HE WILL NOT ALLOW THE TEMPTATION TO BE MORE THAN YOU CAN STAND.
The verse, of course, is a reference to His strength in dealing with the temptations we all face. He is faithful. Temptations are not allowed to overwhelm us. He simply never allows it. This speaks to His absolute control and mastery, only what He allows passes to us, nothing more.
Not too much. Never too much.
I recall speaking with a friend who was facing several major challenges in his life. They affected health, family and work; and the weight of them was crushing. As we spoke one day, I asked him how he was truly doing. His reply was classic. He said, “I know that God has promised not to allow temptation to be more than I can stand; but lately I’m getting VERY IMPRESSED with His opinion of me!”
Of course God is faithful in helping us deal with our temptations and life battles. But His faithfulness goes so much farther than that.
GOD IS FAITHFUL.
His love for us is steadfast, immoveable. It isn’t changed by whims of emotion. His love for us never ceases or comes to an end. It continues on and an on. His love reaches higher than any barrier you see before you. The depth of His love extends to the very bedrock of everything in your life, solidly grounded and established. Wider than the widest ocean, wider than a trillion galaxies, His love extends to places we cannot see or imagine.
In one of the prayers recorded in the scriptures, the Apostle Paul prays that Christ will dwell in the hearts of his friends in the Ephesian church through faith. He says that as they are rooted and grounded in love, they will comprehend the length and width and height and depth of the love of Christ. God is faithful. His faithfulness allows you and I to know this love that surpasses knowledge, so we may be filled with all the fullness of God.
God is faithful. When we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
God is faithful. His cleansing calls us into fellowship with Jesus Christ. As Christ dwells within us, the faithfulness of God changes us from within.
God is faithful. As we walk in fellowship with Christ, He establishes us in His faithfulness and guards us against the evil one.
God is faithful. All His work is done in faithfulness. Every touch of His hand is a work of His faithfulness.
At many holiday tables this Christmas there will be an abundance of food. Hosts and hostesses will offer to fill plates to the brim, and then refill them again. “That’s too much” will be heard in many homes. Blessings too abundant to consume in a single sitting.
God is faithful. His blessings are like that, too. Way more than we can consume, too many blessings for us to hold on to. More than enough.
God says His faithful ones will abound with blessings. He wants to pour blessing upon blessing into our lives. Good, full measures of every sort of blessing; poured out, pressed down, packed in, shaken together so that there is room for more. Pouring forth blessings until the blessings overflow.
They overflow so that you can be generous. They overflow so that you can be a source of blessing to those around you who are in need of God’s blessing, too.
He gives so that we can give. Way more blessings than we can consume, too many for us to hold on to. More than enough.
And as we marvel at the blessings, sometimes we feel unworthy; sometimes we protest, “That’s too much.”
God simply keeps pouring out more and tells us, “No, it’s not too much; it’s never too much. Be faithful, like I am. Give it away. I’ve given you seed to be sown into the lives of those in need. Be faithful.”
GOD IS FAITHFUL.
