Great is Thy Faithfulness
Within the realm of theological study, certain verities, when repeated often enough, begin to sound trite. While Scripture admonishes the faithful to hide the word of God in their hearts (Psalm 119), the Prophet Jeremiah observes that “the heart is deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17). It is no surprise, then, that the attributes of God that should most compel us to bow in adoration of the Triune God hardly move us. Our hearts are callous to the truths that should be our foundation.
In part, this is understandable. For many Christians, theological truths function as nothing more than simple deflection, meant to shield them from confronting the difficulties of life. When a friend mourns an unexpected loss, one sheepishly says, “God is in control,” hoping the conversation goes no further. The loss of a job is met with a chorus of “God will provide,” while the unemployed knows not how he will provide food for his children. Young people agonizing in an epidemic of loneliness hear “God loves you,” yet they feel just as empty as ever. While theologically true, such instinctive replies become an impediment to true spiritual growth, for it is in the difficulties of life that our sanctification meets the most fertile soil.
Such is the risk in choosing a simple spiritual theme for the year: Great is Thy Faithfulness.
I know of no true believer who would counter God’s faithfulness, yet who among us can provide a definition of any more substance than “God is always there for us”? Perhaps more than other attributes, God’s faithfulness forces us to see His “otherness.” Paradoxically, unlike the otherworldly attributes of omniscience and omnipresence, faithfulness is a concept we can grasp mentally, and in so grasping, we see just how exceptional it is.
Adam and Eve rebelled. God was faithful.
Moses lost his temper. God was faithful.
David committed the most grievous sins. God was faithful.
Peter betrayed the Lord. God was faithful.
And we, like all the major and minor characters of Scripture, pursue our own agendas and are daily beholden to the philosophies of the age. Yet, God is faithful.
As we begin a new year and approach PVCP’s 50th season of ministry, I encourage the PVCP community to daily set aside time to truly reflect on God’s faithfulness, and I Chronicles 29:11 serves as valuable aid in our meditations. While not the typical passage on the topic of faithfulness, the author forces us to raise up our heads from the mundane to contemplate the majesty of God. And in surveying the breadth and depth of all that God is, we cannot help but be captivated by His eternal faithfulness and ultimate victory.
Brant Nyhart | Head of School
“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.” – I Chronicles 29:11
