“The Faithfulness of God”


BIBLE READING: Isaiah 22-25

“O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.”                                                                  -Isaiah 25:1   
                We cannot help but notice Isaiah’s very personal relationship with God. In-between the different prophecies God gave Isaiah are passages where he seemed overwhelmed by what he had been given and needed to stop and simply worship God. He praised God for His actions in the past, and the promises He made and then faithfully accomplished. The reliability of God, the fact that He does exactly what He promises, is an often-repeated thought throughout the Book of Isaiah.
Since God is faithful, we can be certain that He expects us to be faithful in our service to Him and others. The story of Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, the disciple of the Apostle John, well illustrates this faithfulness. When he was brought before the Roman authorities and told to curse Christ if he wanted to be released, he replied, “Eighty-six years have I served Him, and he has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” The Roman officer replied, “Unless you change your mind, I will have you burnt.” But the disciple said, “You threaten a fire that burns for an hour, and after a while is quenched; for you are ignorant of the judgment to come and of everlasting punishment reserved for the ungodly. Do what you wish.” We, of course, can never be as faithful to God as He is to us. We find that we often fail, don’t we? But every time we fail, we must simply repent again and return to serving Him.                                                                                                                                                -Ed Rhea                            

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