What would you do if a strength you had became a weakness? Have you heard of that concept before? It could be beauty, a loving nature, a singing voice, a fun personality quick wit, physical health, strong leadership abilities, or one of many other things. An incident in the subway of a foreign country where my husband and I were serving God shows not only this concept, but greater than that, the faithfulness of God!
The Bible says in I Thess. 5:24: Faithful is lie who calls you, and He will also bring it to pass.
Even though in our 5 0’s, my husband was still very strong in his arms, and he was quick. He was pick-pocketed just as we got on a subway. He realized this and shouted as the electronic doors slammed shut. He couldn’t believe it! Yet as time went by, we realized the faithfulness of God. The Bible says in Philippians 1:6 that “of this 11 am convinced, that He who has begun a good work in you will bring it to completion in the day of Jesus Christ”. This is God’s faithfulness. God was not yet done doing His work in my husband. Although the thieves used the electric doors to help them complete their theft, the doors kept a very strong 50 year old from chasing a potentially knife-carrying man. My husband no doubt could have been injured, even severely. Perhaps a man without great strength would not have attempted to chase the man. Strength can be a weakness. God was faithful to astoundingly direct split-second timing in the closing of a subway door to shut my husband IN, and away from the thief How grateful we were to just loose a few papers in comparison.
God is true to His words and purpose. But God’s faithfulness doesn’t mean He will bless us even if we wander away from Him. Not understanding God’s faithfulness will leave us feeling we’re in it all alone, fearful, and possibly manipulating or forcing life’s circumstances. Trusting in His faithful character will free us from panic and fear when life seems to have quickly gone out of control. I believe one reason the 11 disciples fled in Gethsemane, was seeing the unfaithfulness of Judas in his betrayal of Christ. What a shock! They momentarily forgot the faithfulness of God and must have felt aloneness. It is of great value to read of God in Lamentations 3:23: Great is Your faithfulness.
©2004 Thrive
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