Great Is Your FaithfulnessSample

Faithful to Sustain

Several years ago, my family and I took a vacation to California and visited Disneyland while there. This was before they started charging all the extra fees for Fast Passes. For many of the bigger rides where lines would stack up, you could step over to a nearby kiosk, push a button, and out would come a little ticket that gave you a scheduled time to ride, giving you passing privileges from the hundreds waiting in line. Knowing they were free, I couldn't help but marvel at the hundreds waiting in the line. Some of those wait times were two and three hours long! I just couldn't understand why someone would prefer to wait for hours in line for a 60-90-second ride when there was a Fast Pass option!

In life, we often find ourselves looking for the Fast Pass station. Surely there's a way to bypass this grueling trial in order to jump over to the joy ride we can see in the distance! But unfortunately, there is no Fast Pass for earthly trials and tribulations (see John 16). Jesus assured us that our earthly passage would include the lengthy lines we prefer to skip over. The good news? God is faithful to sustain.

God's Word is loaded with historical accounts of God's faithfulness. And much of God's faithfulness shows up in His sustaining, or keeping, power as mankind weathers challenging experiences. King Jehoshaphat found himself facing the challenge of a lifetime after a season of God's protection, provision, and favor. King J was a man who followed after God, despite cultural norms to seek after foreign gods. Even his enemies respected him for a season. Until they didn't.

After a season of peace, war was looming before King J and he was greatly distressed over it. Faced with the greatest crisis of his life, King J met an otherwise impossible situation by seeking the Lord through prayer and fasting. He brought in singers to sing praises to God. He recounted God's faithfulness to protect and defend His people in the past. And he expressed ultimate surrender to and dependence upon the God of his fathers. Spoiler alert: despite all the odds stacked against them, King J and his armies collected plunder from a battle they didn't even have to fight! He recognized: I may not escape this fight, but God will be with me in it.

My friend Sarah, a global worker in a sensitive nation, recently shared about how God has sustained her and her family in their Kingdom work among a rather volatile people group of the world:

"Every time I get overwhelmed, discouraged, or disappointed and want to quit, God comes in with the perfect words or with overwhelming joy, peace, and encouragement to continue. The fact that I haven’t quit yet is evidence of God’s faithfulness to His Promise to never leave or forsake me."

Sarah and her family continue to say Yes to God's call to leave most of their family behind and live in a terroristic environment. The burden to share the Gospel at their own lives' risk is not lifted off of their lives just because it's hard. And the enemy undoubtedly combats them at every turn. And yet God sustains them in the midst of the trials.

God is faithful to sustain. And He will sustain you today, no matter what you're facing.

Dig a Little Deeper

If you find yourself grappling with a trial when you would rather find an escape, follow Jehoshaphat's example: call on God. Remind Him of His faithfulness to keep you in times past. Remember His goodness. Worship Him despite your frustration and lack of understanding. And trust Him to sustain you in the midst of it all. Great news: you'll come out with a victory flag to wave!