A Safety Net

One morning during my private devotions, I prayed, “Lord, what do you want to teach me today?” Immediately the word faithfulness popped into my mind, and with that thought I had a flash of insight. It was as if my spiritual eyes were opened for just an instant, and I peeped over the rim of Heaven and could see an endless storehouse of God’s provisions. I was compelled to study all the scriptures I could find on God’s faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:23 seemed to stand out among the others. One thing I learned from this scripture is that His faithfulness is great. Great means abounding, exceeding, full. There is an endless supply; it will never run out. Ephesians 3:20 says about the same thing “God... is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think.” Our needs are never too great that He cannot supply. Apparently there are things meant for us that we don’t even ask for.

I learned there is a fresh supply of His faithfulness each day. Don’t worry about God’s provisions getting low or depleted because: “They are new every morning.” I am reminded of the widow of Zarephath who fed Elijah. Because of a drought, she was out of food. God caused her store of oil and meal to be renewed every day until the drought was broken. God’s faithfulness never failed her and it will not fail us either. He knows what our particular needs will be and the provisions are there.

God delights in giving to us. “His compassions fail not.” He is tenderhearted toward us, always attentive to our cries for help. I also thought of the first line of the great old hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness It says, “There is no shadow of turning with thee.” God will never turn away from us in our time of need. He is attentive to our every sigh, every tear, every grimace of pain. Even though we try to fix things ourselves and only turn to God when all else fails, He is still faithful. He is our loving father, full of compassion, and never forgets us even when we are forgetful.

Studying about God’s faithfulness gave me great peace. It reminded me of a safety net. Remember going to the circus as a child and watching the trapeze artists perform? They had a safety net to catch them if they fell. The performers were confident and could perform great feats without fear of harm. You may feel like you are going to fall or are already in a free fall, but you can only fall so far because God’s safety net of faithfulness will always be there to catch you. There is no room for you to slip through the cracks. You can have peace and confidence and the freedom to climb higher and reach farther than you ever thought you could.

Scriptures to ponder: Lamentations 3:23; 1 Kings 17:9-16; Ephesians 3:20; James 1:17.