Light in the Darkness

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
    for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
    till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
    to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
    he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

4 My soul is in the midst of lions;
    I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
    whose tongues are sharp swords.

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!

6 They set a net for my steps;
    my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
    but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
    my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8     Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the clouds.

11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth! – Psalm 57:1-11 ESV

Because of Saul’s unjustified vendetta against him, David was forced to seek refuge in the wilderness. During his 13-year-long exile from Judah, David and his faithful band of men lived in constant fear for their lives, trying to stay one step ahead of Saul and his posse of well-trained mercenaries.

David wrote this psalm during this emotionally draining and confusing phase of his life. Yet despite the less-than-pleasant conditions in which he was forced to live, David remained confident in the Lord’s care and concern for him.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy!
    I look to you for protection.
I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings
    until the danger passes by. – Psalm 57:1 NLT

While caves had become a source of physical refuge, David never stopped trusting in God as his ultimate protector and provider. Even as he hid in the dark recesses of some dank and unhospitable cave, David trusted his fate to God, believing that the Almighty would one day restore his fortunes.

I cry out to God Most High,
    to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.
He will send help from heaven to rescue me,
    disgracing those who hound me. – Psalm 57:2-23 NLT

Though David was renowned for his military prowess, he viewed himself as a helpless bird huddled under the protective wing of its mother. During his extended trial, David had found God to be a constant source of strength and encouragement, showing up at just the right time and delivering him from the hands of his enemies. His escape from King Achish and the Philistines had not resulted from his award-winning acting skills, but because God had intervened on his behalf (1 Samuel 21:10-15).

David was a realist and not an overly optimistic, glass-half-full kind of guy. He knew the desperate nature of his circumstances and was more than willing to paint his conditions in realist terms.

I am surrounded by fierce lions
    who greedily devour human prey—
whose teeth pierce like spears and arrows,
    and whose tongues cut like swords. – Psalm 57:4 NLT

But as he expressed in the previous psalm, David saw no reason to fear men as long as God was on his side.

…my enemies trample on me all day long,
    for many attack me proudly.
When I am afraid,
    I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can flesh do to me? – Psalm 56:2-4 ESV

This I know, that God is for me.
In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can man do to me? – Psalm 56;9-11 ESV

David was in God’s leadership training school, where he received on-the-job training in trust and obedience. His path to the throne of Israel was proving to be anything but smooth and pleasant, but his awareness of God’s power and provision increased daily. 

His life was an up-and-down, roller-coaster affair filled with constant threats to his life that required persistent reliance upon God. But even during his darkest moments, David never stopped viewing himself as a servant of God whose role was to shepherd and protect the people of God. At one point, he heard that the Philistines were stealing grain from the town of Keilah. Apalled by this act of aggression, David sought to know what God would have him do. When he asked the Lord, “Should I go and attack them?” (1 Samuel 23:2 NLT), he received a positive response.

So David and his men went to Keilah. They slaughtered the Philistines and took all their livestock and rescued the people of Keilah. – 1 Samuel 23:5 NLT

When Saul received news that David had rescued the town of Keilah, he didn’t rejoice in this unexpected defeat of the Philistines. Instead, he saw an opportunity to capture David.

“We’ve got him now! God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself in a walled town!” So Saul mobilized his entire army to march to Keilah and besiege David and his men. – 1 Samuel 23:7-8 NLT

Fresh off his victory over the Philistines, David soon received news that Saul was coming. What made this report so disturbing was the fact that Saul intended to destroy his own people just to capture David. So, David sought the will of God once again.

“O Lord, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here. Will the leaders of Keilah betray me to him? And will Saul actually come as I have heard? O Lord, God of Israel, please tell me.” – 1 Samuel 23:10-11 NLT

God confirmed David’s suspicions, so rather than risk the lives of the people of Keilah, David and his men vacated the town and headed back into the wilderness.

So David and his men—about 600 of them now—left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn’t go to Keilah after all. David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him. – 1 Samuel 23:13-14 NLT

That last line is key and explains why David had such confidence in God. He understood that God was responsible for his safety and security. Yahweh had provided every last-minute escape and led them to just the right cave to serve as their “stronghold.”  

Looking back at his circumstances, David crafted a song to tell others what he had learned about his God. He penned the lyrics to a hymn of praise that chronicled God’s goodness even in the worst of times. David was being chased and hounded. His very life was in danger. He was surrounded by enemies and facing seemingly insurmountable odds. Yet he had been anointed by the prophet Samuel and appointed by God to be the next king of Israel. That is why he kept trusting in and crying out to the one “who will fulfill His purpose for me” (Psalm 57:2 NLT). Despite all that had happened since his anointing, David continued to trust God for the future.

My heart is confident in you, O God;
    my heart is confident.
    No wonder I can sing your praises! – Psalm 57:7 NLT

When Samuel traveled to Jesse’s house to find Saul’s replacement as king, David heard the Lord say, “This is the one; anoint him” (1 Samuel 16:12 NLT). Then Samuel poured the anointing oil on David’s head, and God poured His Spirit into David’s heart. In doing so, God promised David that he would one day be the next king of Israel. Yes, Saul was still on the throne and David was hiding out in a cave in the wilderness, but despite those circumstances, God would keep His promise.

David could sing God’s praises because He had learned to trust God’s promises. He didn’t delay his praise until God had fulfilled all his promises and he was sitting on the throne of Israel. No, David sang God’s praises from the depths of a cave in the middle of the wilderness, years before he ever put a crown on his head or set foot in the city of Jerusalem. David sang of God’s love and faithfulness in anticipation of God’s future fulfillment of His promises.

I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.
    I will sing your praises among the nations.
For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens.
    Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. – Psalm 57:9-10 NNLT

David had learned to praise God in the midst of his problems, not just after they were gone. He could sing in the darkness of the cave, when the light of God’s glory was difficult to discern and the hope of His promises was hidden from view.

Like David, we can praise God for what He has yet to do, because He always comes through. He keeps His word. The Lord never lies or reneges on His commitments.

God is not a man, so he does not lie.
    He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
    Has he ever promised and not carried it through? – Numbers 23:19 NLT

David cried out to God, knowing that He would send help from heaven to rescue him. In due time, God would do what He had promised to do. And He still works the same way today. We can trust Him because He is trustworthy. We can sing in the cave because God is there. We can rejoice in the darkness because God’s light never diminishes or dims.

Father, may I be able to say, “My heart is confident in you, my heart is confident.” And may I be able to say it long before You’ve proven it true. May I praise You based on Your reputation for faithfulness, not just when I’ve seen it lived out. I tend to want to praise You when Your promises have been fulfilled in full. But David sang of Your greatness even when his circumstances painted a different picture. Strengthen my faith so that I might praise You even when I can’t see You. Amen 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Best Advertising is a Satisfied Customer

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the LORD.

4 Blessed is the man who makes
    the LORD his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
    to those who go astray after a lie!
5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
    your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
    yet they are more than can be told.

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
    but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
    you have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
    in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
    your law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance
    in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
    as you know, O LORD.
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.

11 As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain
    your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
    ever preserve me!
12 For evils have encompassed me
    beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
    and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
    my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me!
    O LORD, make haste to help me!
14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
    who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
    who delight in my hurt!
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
    who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16 But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
    say continually, “Great is the LORD!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
    but the LORD takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God! – Psalm 40:1-17 ESV

When was the last time you told someone else what God has done for you? I’m not talking about your salvation story, how you came to Christ when you were seven or eight. I’m talking about telling others how God is actively involved in your life, accomplishing things He can do.

David starts this Psalm by talking about a time in the not-so-distant past when he found himself patiently waiting for help from God. Then he testifies that “he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along” (Psalm 40:1-2 NLT). As a result of God’s gracious intervention, David sang His praises for what He had done in his life. He engaged in an orchestrated public relations campaign for God, boldly proclaiming his miraculous rescue and restoration. His goal was simple: He wanted others to learn from his experience and place their confidence in God.

Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
    They will put their trust in the Lord. – Psalm 40:3b NLT

To ensure that his audience didn’t miss the point, David recorded a very public prayer of gratitude to God that conveyed his belief in God’s trustworthiness.

Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD,
    who have no confidence in the proud
    or in those who worship idols.
O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us.
    Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
    You have no equal.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
    I would never come to the end of them. – Psalm 40:4-5 NLT

Too often, the only stories we have of God’s activity in our lives are in the past tense. We can tell how we came to faith in Christ and describe the life-transforming nature of that encounter. We may even recall a time when God answered a prayer or delivered us from a difficult situation. But our stories of God’s active involvement in our lives tend to be few and far between and rarely recent in occurrence.

But for David, God was actively involved in every aspect of his life. The LORD’s actions weren’t sporadic or isolated; they were constant and commonplace. Everywhere David looked, he could see God’s handiwork, and he could stop talking about it.

I have told all your people about your justice.
    I have not been afraid to speak out,
    as you, O Lord, well know.
I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart;
    I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power.
I have told everyone in the great assembly
    of your unfailing love and faithfulness. – Psalm 40:9-10 NLT

This testimony of God’s love and faithfulness was meant to encourage others, but David also used it to bolster his own trust in God. He knew the future would be filled with ample opportunities to seek God’s help and see His faithfulness played out because sin wasn’t going away and troubles were inevitable.

LORD, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me.
    Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me.
For troubles surround me—
    too many to count!
My sins pile up so high
    I can’t see my way out.
They outnumber the hairs on my head.
    I have lost all courage. – Psalm 40:11-12 NLT

David knew from experience that difficult days would come, but he also knew that God could and would show up when he called. David viewed his life as a proving ground of God’s presence, power, and provision. When his enemies attacked, David could turn to God for help. When his own sinfulness raised its ugly head, David could seek forgiveness and restoration from the LORD. There was no difficulty or dilemma in David’s future that God couldn’t handle. His life had been a testimonial to God’s presence and power, and he wanted everyone to know it.

…may all who search for you
    be filled with joy and gladness in you.
May those who love your salvation
    repeatedly shout, “The LORD is great!”
As for me, since I am poor and needy,
    let the Lord keep me in his thoughts.
You are my helper and my savior.
    O my God, do not delay. – Psalm 40:16-17 NLT

In the middle of this psalm, David draws an interesting conclusion that has far-reaching implications. His testimony concerning God’s faithfulness must be accompanied by a willing obedience to keep God’s commands. It doesn't do any good to go through the motions, offering sacrifices to God and displaying a ritualistic religious fervor that conveys a false sense of piety. David knew that God wanted more than lip service; He desired heartfelt obedience.

You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings.
    Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand—
    you don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings.
Then I said, “Look, I have come.
    As is written about me in the Scriptures:
I take joy in doing your will, my God,
    for your instructions are written on my heart.” – Psalm 40:6-8 NLT

What makes this passage even more significant is its presence in the Book of Hebrews, where the author quotes it in reference to Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross

…when Christ came into the world, he said to God,

“You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings.
But you have given me a body to offer.
You were not pleased with burnt offerings
or other offerings for sin.
Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—
as is written about me in the Scriptures.’” – Hebrews 10:5-7 NLT

According to the author of Hebrews, Jesus understood that obedience to the Father’s will superseded any adherence to the Mosaic Law. While He lived on this planet, Jesus kept the law perfectly and obeyed His Heavenly Father flawlessly. 

When he appeared in human form,
    he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross. – Philippians 2:7-8 NLT

Jesus became the perfect sacrifice—the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). During His earthly ministry, Jesus repeatedly testified to God’s presence, power, and provision. He spoke of God’s greatness and goodness and demonstrated God’s power through miracles and messages. But all that would have meant nothing if He failed to do what God had sent Him to accomplish.

David seemed to understand that obedience must accompany obeisance. In other words, feigning worship of God without obeying the will of God is hypocrisy. Testifying to God’s greatness while refusing to do His will isn’t worship, it’s the worst form of duplicity. God spoke of this duplicitous and deceitful charade on the part of His people through the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel.

“These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” – Isaiah 29:13 NLT

“…they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.” – Ezekiel 33:31 ESV

Testifying to God’s greatness while ignoring His will is unacceptable and untenable. David understood that the greatest form of praise was obedience. He was more than willing to sing God's praises, but he also wanted to do God’s will.

I am convinced that many more people would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ if the followers of Christ had more to say about Him. If we had more to share about what He has done in our lives lately and how Christ is transforming our lives daily, it would give credibility to our claims regarding the value of salvation. So many unbelievers are asking, “What has God done for you lately?” If they asked you that question, what would your answer be? What would you tell them? David gives us some not-so-subtle hints:

I have told all your people about your justice.
    I have not been afraid to speak out… – Psalm 40:9 NLT

I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart;
    I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power.
I have told everyone in the great assembly
    of your unfailing love and faithfulness. – Psalm 40:10 NLT

David knew first-hand what it was like to have God intervene in his life and rescue him from trouble, forgive him of sin, provide him with victory, heal him from sickness, and restore him to a right relationship with Himself. David knew that a relationship with God was not all about doing things for God to somehow keep Him satisfied and earn brownie points with Him. No, God wants His followers to take joy in doing His will because they have experienced His faithful, unconditional love and want to express their gratitude through obedience and submission to His will for their lives – because they know He loves them and has their best interests in store.

David said about God, “Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them” (Psalm 40:5 NLT). David had much to say about God because God was an active and vital part of his life. Can the same thing be said of us? If we tried to recite all the wonderful things He has done for us lately, would we run out of time before our list ran out?

David called on God because he expected God to act. David waited on God because he was confident God would respond. David told others about God because he had plenty of stories of God’s faithfulness to tell. He said, “May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, ‘The Lord is great!'” (Psalm 40:16b NLT). Maybe we have little to say about God because we so seldom turn to God for help and hope.

Oh, the joys of those who trust in the LORD. – Psalm 40:4a NLT

Father, the problem is not that You are silent in my life, it is that I don’t recognize and appreciate Your activity. I don’t see it, so I don’t acknowledge it. You are working all the time on my behalf, but I tend to be blind to it. I also don’t turn to You enough in times of trouble and trust You for deliverance. I try to solve all my own problems. In doing so, I rob You of glory and deny myself the opportunity to see Your power on display in my life. I want to be a greater witness for You by being more satisfied by You. I want to sing Your praises more and tell everyone I meet of all Your wonderful acts. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Faithfulness of God

Reliable, steadfast, dependable, and trustworthy are just a few of the words that come to mind when we think of faithfulness. And yet, for many of us, it is difficult to think of an individual who models faithfulness – faithfully. We all have our moments of faithfulness, but they can tend to be shortlived or interspersed with displays of unexpected and even unintended actions that portray us as untrustworthy and unreliable.

Human beings are flawed creatures who must battle daily with the very real effects of sin. We want to be faithful, but too often we find ourselves lacking the inner resolve to stay true to our word, devoted to our relationships, and consistent in our character.

But then there’s God, who is forever faithful.

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. – Deuteronomy 7:9 ESV

If we are unfaithful,
    he remains faithful,
    for he cannot deny who he is. – 2 Timothy 3:13 NLT

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning. – Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT

Faithfulness is not an optional outcome or outward display of His character that God chooses to manifest. It is the essence of who He is. He is faithful, and he cannot choose to be otherwise. Faithfulness is not an option for God; it exudes from every pore of His being. The psalmist understood the all-encompassing, non-negotiable nature of God’s faithfulness.

O Lord God of hosts,
    who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
    with your faithfulness all around you? – Psalm 89:8 ESV

A. W. Pink described God’s faithfulness as “one of the glorious perfections of His being. He is as it were clothed with it” (A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God). Like all His other attributes, God’s faithfulness is an inner quality that manifests itself in visible, tangible ways. Displays of His faithfulness are all around us.

For the Lord is a great God,
    and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also. – Psalm 95:3-4 ESV

Here, the psalmist emphasizes God’s power; that ability to create and control the universe. But this passage also speaks of God’s faithfulness. Should he ever stop holding the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains in His hands, the world would cease to exist. God boldly proclaims, “It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When I call out the stars, they all appear in order” (Isaiah 48:13 NLT). And He faithfully maintains all that He has made. After God had brought devastation upon the earth through the flood, He promised Noah: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22 ESV).

Then what do we do with a passage like 2 Peter 3:10? In it, Peter seems to paint a different picture of God’s faithfulness, describing a future day when God will destroy the heavens and the earth with fire.

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. – 2 Peter 3:10 NLT

This raises another aspect of God’s faithfulness. He is true to His word. What always does what He says He will do. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. He never fails to follow through with His commitments. His faithfulness extends to the very words that come from His lips.

God is not a man, so he does not lie.
    He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
    Has he ever promised and not carried it through? – Numbers 23:19 NLT

According to the author of Hebrews, “God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you’’” (Hebrews 13:5 NLT). And he didn’t dream up this reassuring aspect of God’s faithfulness. Centuries earlier, Moses told the people of Israel: “The LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT). Years later, God assured Joshua, “I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you” (Joshua 1:5 NLT). And God was good for His word; He did what He said He would do.

But God’s faithfulness to keep His word also includes His warnings of judgment for sin and discipline for disobedience.

“I, the LORD, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty.” – Isaiah 48:13 NLT

“I correct and discipline everyone I love.” – Revelation 3:19 NLT

God is faithful, even when fulfilling His promises and following through with His warnings. He does not make idle threats. To do so would make Him a liar. Failure to keep His promises would make Him unreliable and unworthy of adoration and praise. Unfaithfulness would render God unholy. An unreliable, untrustworthy God would be no God at all. But our God is fully and completely faithful – all the time.

“Everything about God is great, vast, incomparable. He never forgets, never fails, never falters, never forfeits His word. To every declaration of promise or prophecy the Lord has exactly adhered, every engagement of covenant or threatening He will make good…” – A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God

Faithfulness requires consistency and constancy. To be truly faithful demands an absence of fickleness or capriciousness. Humans have difficulty remaining faithful because they are easily distracted and find their commitments easily blown about like leaves in the wind. Lack of follow-through, unreliability, and broken promises plague fallen mortal men. Trust is in short supply because trustworthy people seem to be few and far between.

But God can always be relied upon; He is constantly consistent in every way. He is always loving, just, righteous, holy, and faithful. No one who has ever placed their trust in God has been let down or disappointed with the results but that doesn’t mean to say they always liked how things turned out. David received God’s anointing to become the next king of Israel. But God didn’t inform David that He would not be removing Saul, the current king, from the throne. This resulted in an immediate conflict between the two men, with Saul becoming jealous of David’s growing popularity. Fearing David would supplant him as king, Saul attempted to kill him, causing David to run for his life. He was forced to spend years living as a fugitive but he never stopped trusting that, one day, God’s promise would be fulfilled.

When God commanded Moses to lead the people of Israel out of captivity in Egypt and into the land of promise, he believed and obeyed. Yet, Moses never set foot in the land of Canaan.

God’s faithfulness is not intended to be a warm and fuzzy, feel-good attribute that assures us that life will be problem-free and happiness-filled. The doctrine of God’s faithfulness is meant to preserve us in those moments when all looks lost and He seems distant. There will be times when we feel it difficult to discern the presence of God. It will appear as if He has vacated the premises and abandoned us to fend for ourselves.

“There are seasons in the lives of all when it is not easy, no not even for Christians, to believe that God is faithful. Our faith is sorely tried, our eyes be dimmed with tears, and we can no longer trace the outworkings of His love. Our ears are distracted with the noises of the world, harassed by the atheistic whisperings of Satan, and we can no longer hear the sweet accents of His still small voice. Cherished plans have been thwarted, friends on whom we relied have failed us, a professed brother or sister in Christ has betrayed us. We are staggered. We sought to be faithful to God, and now a dark cloud hides Him from us. We find it difficult, yea, impossible, for carnal reason to harmonize His frowning providence with His gracious promises.” – A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God

But the truth of God’s faithfulness should bolster us during those moments of doubt and fear. He has not left us. He has not forsaken us. His love for us has not diminished. His strength to save has not decreased. His capacity to care for and comfort us in our time of need remains unchanged. Isaiah would have us keep God’s faithfulness in mind when the darkness surrounds us and doubt begins to overwhelm us.

If you are walking in darkness,
    without a ray of light,
trust in the Lord
    and rely on your God. – Isaiah 50:10 NLT

God would remind us to never judge Him based on our circumstances. It should always be the other way around. The presence of problems is not proof of the absence of God. Our feelings of having been abandoned by God may be real, but they are never true. In those moments, we are operating at a disadvantage; we cannot see what God sees. We do not know what He knows.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV

The apostle Paul reiterates the amazing nature of God’s unsurpassed wisdom so that we might find comfort even in the darkest, most difficult-to-understand moments of life.

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! – Romans 11:33 NLT

God is faithful. He is forever faithful. And while we might not understand His ways or like His means, we can trust that God will prove trustworthy and faithful in all His interactions with us.

So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you. – 1 Peter 4:19 NLT

God’s unwavering, unchanging faithfulness should bring us confidence and hope. The knowledge that He is fully and always reliable should cause us to rest in His promises and rely upon His undiminished mercy and grace for us. His plans never fail because His faithfulness never fades.

“Upon God’s faithfulness rests our whole hope of future blessedness. Only as He is faithful will His covenants stand and His promises be honoured. Only as we have complete assurance that He is faithful may we live in peace and look forward with assurance to the life to come.” – A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

I Do Not Forsake Them

10 Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise from the end of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,
    the coastlands and their inhabitants.
11 Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice,
    the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the habitants of Sela sing for joy,
    let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord,
    and declare his praise in the coastlands.
13 The Lord goes out like a mighty man,
    like a man of war he stirs up his zeal;
he cries out, he shouts aloud,
    he shows himself mighty against his foes.

14 For a long time I have held my peace;
    I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor;
    I will gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills,
    and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn the rivers into islands,
    and dry up the pools.
16 And I will lead the blind
    in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known
    I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
    the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do,
    and I do not forsake them.
17 They are turned back and utterly put to shame,
    who trust in carved idols,
who say to metal images,
    “You are our gods.” – Isaiah 42:10-17 ESV

At hearing the news of the coming of God’s Servant, Isaiah can’t contain his excitement and breaks out into song. Verses 10-13 contain a joyous hymn of praise to Yahweh for His goodness and greatness. God’s Servant, the Messiah, was going to bring redemption to the people of God. He will bring justice to the nations and be a demonstration of God’s righteousness on earth. God had made it clear that His Servant would “be a light to guide the nations.” He would “open the eyes of the blind” and “free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons” (Isaiah 42:6-7 NLT). And Isaiah saw this as ample reason to praise God.

But Isaiah’s song was also a call for others to join him in singing the praises of God. He addresses those who sail the seas and those who live in the deserts. From the farthest coastal towns to villages in the mountains, all the inhabitants of the earth were to recognize and respond to the unequaled power of God. As far as Isaiah was concerned, this was to be a global celebration of the one true God

Let the whole world glorify the Lord;
    let it sing his praise. – Isaiah 42:12 NLT

And the reason behind Isaiah’s enthusiastic call for universal praise of God was quite simple.

The Lord goes out like a mighty man,
    like a man of war he stirs up his zeal;
he cries out, he shouts aloud,
    he shows himself mighty against his foes. – Isaiah 42:13 ESV

It is important to recall that, at the time Isaiah is singing this son, the situation in Judah remained unchanged. There was still the looming threat of invasion. God had already told Isaiah and King Hezekiah that the nation of Judah would fall to the Babylonians. And yet, here is Isaiah singing about God marching forth like a mighty hero and crushing all his enemies, as if it had already happened.

For Isaiah, the word of God was all he needed. If God said it, Isaiah believed it. He had learned to take God at His word and to trust Him to do what He had promised. God had said He would send His Servant and that was enough for Isaiah. He would put his trust in God.

And God would eventually prove Himself trustworthy – yet again. The day would come when He would use King Cyrus to decree the return of the people from captivity in Babylon. This Persian king would even help fund the return of the remnant to Jerusalem and help defray the cost of rebuilding the city and the temple of God. Yahweh, the very one who brought judgment on the people of Judah for their rebellion against Him, would be the one to restore them to the land.

And one day, God would send His Son to earth, in the form of an innocent baby, in order to bring salvation to the people of God. Born a Jew, Jesus would bring His message of the Kingdom to His own people, calling them to repentance and offering them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be restored to a right relationship with Yahweh. But sadly, as the apostle John records, “He came to his own people, and even they rejected him” (John 1:11 NLT). The Servant of God was sent by God to sacrificially serve the people of God. Mark tells us, He “came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NLT). But Jesus’ offer of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Him alone was rejected by the majority of His own people. They refused His gracious offer of redemption.

And yet, there is a another day coming when Jesus will return to earth again. The Servant/Savior will come a second time, and He will bring redemption to the people of Israel. The prophet Ezekiel wrote about this coming day.

“Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.” – Ezekiel 36:22-24 NLT

There is a sense in which this prophecy was fulfilled when the people were given permission to return to the land of Judah by King Cyrus. But if we continue to read God’s words, as recorded by Ezekiel, we will see that there is an as-yet-unfulfilled aspect to this prophecy.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.  And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God.” – Ezekiel 36:25-28 NLT

God will accomplish all this through His Son, the Servant and Savior of Israel. God will use Jesus, the Messiah, to do for the people of Israel what they had been unable and unwilling to do for themselves. God will transform them into the faithful, obedient, children He had called them to be.

And, suddenly, God interrupts Isaiah’s song of praise with an announcement that is intended to bring assurance to Isaiah and the people of Judah. God admits that, from a human perspective, He has appeared to be silent and inactive. All kinds of things have happened around the people of Judah. There have been alliances made between nations, with the intent to defeat Judah. The Assyrians have plundered and pillaged their way through the land of Judah, leaving a wake of devastation in their path. They have even set up camp outside the walls of Jerusalem, threatening the city with destruction if the inhabitants refuse to surrender.

But all that was about to change. God describes Himself as a woman about to give birth. He is on the verge of delivery, not of a baby, but of salvation for His people. And while this imagery conveys a certain sense of immediacy, it does not mean that God’s salvation is right around the corner. It is meant to convey the idea of inevitability and certainty. Once a woman goes into labor, the baby is going to come, and there is nothing she can do to stop it. God is letting Isaiah and the people of Judah know that when the time comes for Him to act, He will do so. And He emphasizes the inevitability of it all by stating what He will do when the time comes.

“I will level the mountains and hills
    and blight all their greenery.
I will turn the rivers into dry land
    and will dry up all the pools.
I will lead blind Israel down a new path,
    guiding them along an unfamiliar way.
I will brighten the darkness before them
    and smooth out the road ahead of them.
Yes, I will indeed do these things;
    I will not forsake them.” – Isaiah 42:15-16 NLT

He will do all that He has promised to do. And the greatest challenge the people of Judah faced was taking God at His word. They were going to face some significant setbacks in the days ahead. There were going to be plenty of moments when God’s presence and power were difficult to comprehend. They would find themselves facing all kinds of difficulties that seemed to contradict the promises of God. But circumstances are always a lousy litmus test of God’s power and presence. Just because we can’t see God doesn’t mean He is not there. Too often, we allow the presence of trials to cause us to conclude that God is inactive or indifferent to our situation. We may even assume He lacks the power to do anything about our problem.

But this passage is meant to encourage faith in God, regardless of the circumstances. It is easy to praise God after the fact. It takes very little faith to sing His praises when the victory has been accomplished and we are on the winning side of the battle. But to praise Him based on nothing more than His word – that take real faith. That requires true trust. When God says, “I will,” He expects His child to respond, “I believe.” It’s all about trust. And God makes it clear that those who refuse to place their trust in anything or anyone but Him, will be disappointed.

“But those who trust in idols,
    who say, ‘You are our gods,’
    will be turned away in shame.” – Isaiah 42:17 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson