God's faithfulness
To go with the theme of the night as we celebrate our congregation’s 3rd birthday (woo), the message this week was faithfulness. The message (faithfully) delivered by Erika, Joanna, and Daniel explored God’s faithfulness in Joshua 1-3.
God’s Faithfulness in His promises (Joshua 1)
In Joshua 1, God is fulfilling His promise, one that goes back to Genesis 15:18-2, where God made a very specific and exact promise to Abram. And He kept His promise to the Israelites by providing them with this land, despite many years of grumblings and complaints from the Israelites (who had even gone so far to go against God). Despite betraying their end of the covenant, God’s promise (down to the very detail), did not change nor waver (and this is only a snippet of God’s unwavering and unchanging nature of God’s promises). Along with land, God made other promises that He still keeps with us today, like:
His unfailing presence(v.5) - God not only promises His presence but also the sufficiency of presence to overcome whatever obstacles that come your way.
Prosperity and Success (V.7-8) - God promises prosperity and success in various aspects of our lives. Note that the world’s definition and God’s definition of success are very different.
Even if God intends to keep all His promises despite our disobedient nature, we should always strive to be as faithful as we can possibly be to Him. Doing this, however, entails meditation and obedience to His enduring Word.
God’s faithfulness in His protection (Joshua 2)
In Joshua 2, we see that God’s faithfulness extends to his protection over those who place their faith in Him. The two spies (who were being hunted by the King of Jerico) and Rahab (who had essentially betrayed her own people in the hopes that she and her family will be spared in the coming siege) put their faith in God and surely enough God remained faithful and provided them with the protection they needed (Joshua 6:25). And His faithfulness does not discriminate! His protection of the spies and Rahab highlights God’s inclusive nature; He protects all who put their faith in Him, as Paul reminds us in Romans 10:12.
““For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him””
God’s faithfulness in His presence
The ark of the covenant, which had been carried around by the Israelites through the desert, was God’s way of providing His presence to His people. In Joshua 3, this presence plays a major role as the Israelites crossed the Jordan and in the same way, God goes before us in our life troubles. God’s presence is also a pivotal part of Joshua’s leadership (verse 7), as God promises His presence while Joshua leads the Israelites. A promise needed for someone filling in the big shoes of Moses who came before.
God’s faithfulness is demonstrated to over and over again in the Israelite story… and in our own lives. As His people, we should be continually reminded of His faithfulness in every situation and that His promises, protection, and presence will remain through and through.
Dear Lord,
We could never thank You enough for Your unwavering faithfulness. We thank You that Your promises are big and never fail. We thank You that Your presence is with us and goes before us. We thank You that Your protection is over us no matter what comes our way. Help us to be grounded in Your Word, Lord, and to be continually reminded of Your faithfulness.
In Your powerful name we pray,
Amen.