God is Faithful – Picture It and Remember

When life is uncertain, remember God is faithful. Can you picture in your mind, a time when you have seen God move in difficult or impossible circumstances? If it were a picture, what would it look like when it popped up on your phone as a memory? Our lives are filled with visual documentation. Pictures of bathroom selfies, friends, scenery, and foods fill our phone’s memories. Yet, do we document God’s faithfulness?

A Book of Memories

When I was young, I loved looking at old albums while I was at my grandmother’s house. She’d sit with me and answer all my curious questions. “Who is this?” “Where was this picture taken?” “Why is my mom doing that?” She would chuckle and recount story after story. I could tell she loved remembering days gone by.  Now that I’m a mom, I have my own albums and stories to tell my children. At times, we’ll even get out grandma’s albums and I’ll tell them the stories that were once told to me.

As I think about these precious memories, I wonder, did I convey God’s faithfulness through the pictures and stories I told my children? God is faithful to me every day. Did I show them and tell them about His faithfulness? Throughout God’s word, He tells us to remember and to tell others, but have I done well at remembering and sharing?

What is Faithfulness

Before I could answer that, I needed to understand what faithfulness was. Webster’s dictionary defines faithfulness as steadfast in affection or allegiance (loyal), firm in adherence to promises, or in observance of duty.  

Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us God’s faithfulness is His unceasing steadfast love and his mercies that never come to an end. Great is His faithfulness.  God’s word also tells us that He keeps His promises to those who love Him (Psalm 145:13, Deut. 7:9). However the most awe-inspiring to me is that even when we aren’t faithful, God is faithful to us (2 Timothy 2:13). You see Romans 5:8 tells us that “God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. That is amazing to me. God’s faithfulness even provided a way for us to have a relationship with Him when we didn’t deserve it. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Examples of Faithfulness

The Bible gives us examples of faithfulness. Micah 7:18-20 tells us how God showed faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham “…as you (God) have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.”

Abraham constantly failed to trust God’s promises including a promise of a son. Jacob lied and cheated to get what he wanted from others. However, God was faithful to the promises He made. Abraham received a son in his old age and Jacob was fruitful and nations and kings came from him.

The Old Testament is filled with illustrations of God defending His people, forgiving His people, and fulfilling His promises time and time again. Why? Because He loves His people, and because He loves His people, He is faithful to the promises He has made. I believe the greatest picture of God’s faithfulness is found in the New Testament. It is Christ on the cross and the empty tomb.

We Can Trust God

Believing in God’s faithfulness can be a scary thing. Especially if we equate God’s character with the experiences we have with people. People will let us down. God will not. However, the more we experience Him the deeper our trust will grow. Hebrews 10:23 tells us that we can trust God and maintain our faith in Him because God is always faithful to keep His promises. Through our experiences with God, we become more confident in God’s faithfulness. It’s those experiences we must capture and remember.

The Look of Faithfulness

So, I’ve learned that God’s faithfulness to Abraham looks like a son in Sarah’s arms. It looks like nations and kings for Jacob. But what does God’s faithfulness look like to me?

As I pondered the question, I remembered time and time again God walking me through trials, or coming to my rescue. However, the time that seems most poignant in my life is when I was in an abusive relationship as a teenager. I cried out to God in a simple prayer, “I can’t do this anymore. Help me!” From that moment on, God wove intricate details into my life. He got me out of that volatile relationship in ways that I could have never thought or imagined. It was also through those details that he arranged for me to meet my future husband. A man who loves the Lord and who loves me unconditionally. So, for me, God’s faithfulness looks like my husband and I walking hand in hand together.

Other Pictures

Throughout the years there have been many other situations in which I had to rely on God’s faithfulness. One such time was when The Lord prompted us to move to Tennessee. It meant leaving close friends and a church we loved and moving to a place where we knew no one. But we trusted The Lord, and He gave us more than we could have ever asked or imagined. A more recent time was when our girls moved out on their own. They really struggled with their faith, but they are now back in church and seeking the Lord (This momma’s heart is full). These are just a few small examples. So, for me, other pictures of God’s faithfulness would be a home with a beautiful view in Tennessee, and my two adult girls attending church praising the Lord. Each picture represents a struggle in my life in which I had to put my trust in the Lord’s faithfulness and He did not disappoint.

Why Remember God is Faithful

In the midst of each of these trials, the struggle was real. Nonetheless, I carried on in faith remembering God’s past faithfulness to me and those who came before me. If it weren’t for the memories, these struggles would have been more difficult to get through. Each trial or struggle I go through strengthens my faith in God. And this is how I’ll get through current situations as my husband looks for a job, and family members wait for test results. Expectantly I’ll wait for more pictures to remember His faithfulness.

Pictures Help Us Remember

Each of us has our own ways of remembering things. As a visual learner, pictures help me to remember details. Israelites didn’t have photos to help them remember. So, they placed stones and built alters to remember significant events. The first time was in Genesis 28:10-22 when Jacob had an encounter with God. He placed a stone as a marker and called the place Bethel. Then there was Joshua 4:1-8 where the Israelites crossed the Jordan River. Joshua had the 12 tribes remove boulders from the riverbed to make a memorial to God’s faithfulness. It was also to be a reminder to future generations. “…when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ you should tell them…” Not only is it important for us to remember, but we should be telling the next generation, as well.

A Scrapbook of Faithfulness

As I think back once again to sitting on the couch with my grandmother, the photo album laid across our laps, I realize how crucial it is to share important pictures and stories.  We take pictures to remember events, happy occasions, and milestones. Why wouldn’t we take pictures of God’s faithfulness and share those stories? God tells us in his word hundreds of times to ‘remember.’ Even the Israelites remembered His faithfulness with their children by telling stories. I wonder how often they’d pass an altar and their children would gather around them and say, “Tell us again about what God did here!”

So, from now on, I will purposefully take pictures of God’s faithfulness towards me and my family. I will make a note beside each picture in a scrapbook so that I can remember and tell the next generation of His faithfulness. I can’t wait to hear my future grandchildren say, “Tell me again about what God did!”

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but it’s important for the next generation to remember the words, “God is faithful.” The evidence is all around us we just need to stop and picture it.

Challenge

This week take a picture of God’s faithfulness and print it off. Make a note either beside it in a scrapbook or on the flip side of the photo telling why this picture shows His faithfulness to you.

What does God’s faithfulness look like to you and why? Share with me in the comments below. 

Know that God is Faithful