A Reason to Continue the Celebration

A Reason to Continue the Celebration

God’s faithfulness has been the focus of much Christian thought during the past weeks of Easter celebration. God’s faithfulness provided a way of escape from the penalty of sin. Jesus, through His death, made atonement for the sins of the people (Heb. 2:17). God’s faithfulness, through the death of Jesus, broke the power of Satan (Heb. 2:14). God’s faithfulness, through the resurrection of Jesus, provided hope for all who believe on His name (1 Cor. 15:20). God’s faithfulness gave victory to Jesus, for Jesus now holds the keys of death and Hades (Rev. 1:18).

God’s faithfulness has defeated the destruction of death. Life eternal is the believer’s reward (John 3:16). All of these are worthy of celebration.

But one does not have to focus on Easter to see the faithfulness of God. God’s faithfulness is seen every day. It provides a foundation for daily Christian living.

The last words Jesus spoke to His disciples, according to Matthew’s Gospel, were, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). John’s Gospel records Jesus’ earlier promise that He would not leave the disciples comfortless but would send the Holy Spirit to teach them and to guide them (John 14).

According to Acts 2:1–4, God’s Holy Spirit fell on the disciples in astonishing fashion. And according to verse 38, God’s Holy Spirit is passed on to every believer.

Think about it. All who accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord have the Spirit of God living in them.

God is with you if you are a believer. That is part of His faithfulness. God is with you when you “soar like an eagle” and when you “stumble and fall.” He is with you in joy and sorrow, in strength and weakness, in every conscious moment and every unconscious moment.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are never alone. Jesus is with you through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

God’s presence is not a passive thing. God is always working. He is always working for good. Romans 8:28 declares, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him … .”

The tension between the theological teachings of God’s sovereignty and the freedom of man causes disagreement about the exact meaning of the verse.

What is above question is that God’s faithfulness is demonstrated by His working for the good of each of His children, for you and for me.

One who has been buffeted by life’s circumstances can speak with understanding. Perhaps it is the result of creation gone awry — a dread disease or deformity. The Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 8 that creation itself has been corrupted by sin and now awaits release. Perhaps it is through the evil and sinful acts of another — such as  a drunk driver, an abusive relationship or a selfish decision.

The result is the same. Destruction. Destruction of dreams, of relationships, of opportunities, of all that seems important.

Sometimes it is as if death has come for all that gives meaning to life. It is as if sin has done its worst.
But God is faithful. “In all things, God works for the good of those who love Him … .” God will not allow sin and Satan to win; not in the life to come nor in this life. Sin rejoices in the chaos it creates, but God moves to bring order out of the chaos. He takes the damage sin and Satan cause and brings good out of it.

The Apostle Paul did not write that the “good” which God brings out of the chaos of evil will be better than before the disease or the drunk driver or the selfish decision.

He did say that God works “in all things” to make sure that Satan does not win, that “good” will be created in the life of the believer.

Satan cannot win in death because his power has been broken. That is part of the faithfulness of God to the believer. Satan cannot win in this life because God is at work through the presence of His Holy Spirit to “work for the good of those who love Him … .”

That, too, is part of the faithfulness of God.