Corona Devo 538

So the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. (44) And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. (45) Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.  ~Joshua 21:43-45

The Lord is faithful. 

These verses are the exclamation point at the end of a long paragraph that the Israelites had written with God on their way to the land He promised them: The Promised Land.  

God had promised this land, and God is faithful.  It was the Israelites who were unfaithful along the way, thus delaying the delivery of God's faithfulness, but thankfully and mercifully, our disobedience will not thwart God's faithfulness.

 

The Lord is faithful. 

We sometimes confuse faithfulness with timeliness.  The Israelites did too, complaining often and crying out to the Lord, (11) ...“Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt?" (Exodus 14:10-11 ).

Remember to note that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt.  They were whining and begging to go back to their areas of bondage.  Sometimes in our frustration-in-waiting for God's faithfulness, we make the same irrational and unhealthy mistake.

But luckily, the immaturity and impatience of our faith does not ruin the eventual outcome.  But, as with the Israelites (who wandered around the desert for an extra 40 years), it can delay it.

But in their wanderings, the faith-process and faith-growth of the Israelites also became part of their (planned) inheritance, and the exact same thing is true for us.  Our faith (like theirs) is established, strengthened, and tested during the journey/in "the wait"/and as we "put one foot in front of the other: following God when we can't see all that lies before us.  He knows the way to the Promised Land.   

And in our process-of-faith, the Lord is faithful. 

His timing is faithful also, but it sure isn't our timing.

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. (9) The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.  ~2 Peter 3:8-9 

On their way to the Promised Land, the Israelites learned a lot of lessons in faith, they fought many battles, and a complete new generation of Israelites were born and grew into adulthood before it was "time" for God's faithfulness to come to full-fruition in them setting foot into the Promised Land.

And guess what?  We will learn a lot of lessons in faith and fight many battles on our way to the "land" God has promised us in Eternity.  I am well into adulthood and I am still learning and failing in faithfulness.  But God is faithful.  And may the children of the next generation be raised up and grow into adulthood learning and living in God's faithfulness.  He is faithful!

And when our time comes, our Promised Land will look a bit different from the one that the Israelites finally conquered and claimed.  But God is faithful.  For anyone who has accepted Christ into their hearts, God will be faithful to take us home to our Promised Land of eternity with Him: 

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. (4) He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”  ~Revelation 21:3-4

The Lord is faithful today, during our journey of faith.

And the Lord will be faithful "tomorrow" when we finally set foot into His "Promised Land" of eternity and our struggles cease.  

The "promises" that the Lord gave to Israel have perfect parallels into our daily faith journeys, and we can have faith that Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true. (Joshua 21:45)

In our wanderings, our faith-process and faith-growth become part of our (planned) inheritance.  Our faith is established, strengthened, and tested during the journey/in "the wait"/and as we "put one foot in front of the other: following God when we can't see all that lies before us.  He knows the way to our Promised Land.   

The Lord is faithful to us today. 

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com