faithful..

"yesterday, today and forever
You are the same
You never change
yesterday, today and forever
You are faithful
and we will trust You..."

~ "yesterday today & forever" by vicky beeching

I just realized how long it has been since I wrote..

I've been learning a lot as I keep seeking what God has for me. School started back up this past week, and with it, work too (since I work at my college...). One thing God has impressed on my heart repeatedly - both recently and not-so-recently - is that as much as I might get distracted and caught up in other things.. He is always faithful. He knows what He's doing and He knows what I need.

I love Hebrews 13:5-8 ~ "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?' Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." If you skip back from chapter 13 to chapter 11 in Hebrews, the entire chapter is about faith and about people God saw as faithful, trusting people who lived for Him. They trusted Him to keep His promises and they obeyed even when it did not look promising or like it could possibly work. Well, God does not work in the "possibly" realm, if that makes any sense. Anything and everything is possible with Him. We have to just trust Him.

So.. yeah.. skip back to Hebrews 11. Read about Abraham and Moses, read about Noah and Isaac and when Joshua led the march around Jericho... Read about Rahab. These people stumbled just like I do. Yet God saw them as people of great faith who needed to be mentioned as examples of faith in Him. After reading Hebrews 11... now go back and read those verses in Hebrews 13 again. Verses 5 through 8. God is never ever ever going to leave us. He never left the people He used Hebrews 11 to tell us about, and He is never going to leave us or let go of us. Consider the people in Hebrews 11 and take a look at their lives.. look at the ways God showed Himself to be their Helper. And then remember that He is the same always. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Always. He never changes. He so deserves our trust and our faith.

Maybe it is easy to look at Hebrews 11 and go "yeah, but I'm not as good as those people.." We can't compare ourselves to others, but if you are going to go by comparison... well, Abraham lied. Rahab was a prostitute. Moses killed a guy. Noah got drunk. I'm not saying these things are okay or that they were even excused for the people mentioned. But what I am saying is that we all make mistakes, and God chooses to use us still. He will bring good out of everything that happens if we Love Him. I promise. If God can use a murderer, don't you think He can use us all? Have you ever hated anyone? Jesus said that if you hate someone, it is the same as murdering them. (I think it is in Matthew.. didn't look it up for the reference yet though..) And yes, I am getting into the Way of the Master questions here.. But really think about it.. God is the same then and now and forever. He used them in such great ways. Read Hebrews 11. Go back and read the Old Testament accounts of the lives of these people. He chose to use them. He is the same today. He is going to use us too.

I have this feeling that even the people mentioned failed to notice some of the ways God was using them at the time. Somehow, looking back it always seems to be easier to see God's blessings and the ways He loves to work. But just let Him take captive your heart.

May my life be one unbroken gaze fixed upon Your beauty and Your grace, no other could ever be as beautiful or steal my heart away, because I am captivated by You, my Jesus.