GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

 

“For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand.  He knows your trudging through this great wilderness.  These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” (Deuteronomy 2:7)

If you are not acquainted with the words of that grand old hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” you ought to be.  It is based on the text in Lamentations 3:22-23,

Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not. 

 They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness. 

In our text for today’s devotional, Moses echoes that same refrain.  Moses is 120 and facing death.  He rehearses God’s faithfulness to a new generation of Israelites who will cross Jordan and enter the Promised Land.

GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL IN HIS PROVISION, “For the LORD your God has blessed you…you have lacked nothing.”  God gave them bread from heaven—manna every morning.  In the desert, he gave them water from a rock.  Their clothing and sandals did not wear out.  They were sheltered from the sun by day by the cloud, which became a pillar of fire to light and warm the camp by night.  I have come to the place where my hair has turned white as a morning frost, where I start the day with a groan and end it with a sigh, where my steps are neither as swift nor steady as in youth, and I can actually access my retirement funds!  Despite all the challenges aging brings, I can face tomorrow without fear, for I have see God’s faithfulness in the past.  I am not a rich man, by any means, but God has always blessed me with enough—more than enough!

GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL IN HIS PROVIDENCE, “He knows your trudging through this great wilderness.”  Trudging—that is a picturesque term, which describes my gait so well!  Life is tough.  The Jews journey through that great wilderness was filled with difficulty and fraught with danger.  There were some stumbles and setbacks on the way, but trudge on they did, because God was leading His dear children along.  That is what providence is all about.  God knows the way we travel; He sees ahead the road we are taking; He has a predetermined end for our pilgrimage.  What God knows of the future is fixed and certain, but what we know is by faith and conviction.  We live life forward, but we understand it backward.  Surveying my life story leads me to testify that God has directed my steps and gives me confidence He will guide me into the future.

GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL IN HIS PRESENCE, “These forty years the LORD your God has been with you….”  In all places and at all times, God had been with them.  They failed Him, but He did not fail them.  As we get older, things change.  Friends and family we have known begin to die—the circle of relationships shrinks here and grows larger in heaven.  The unchanging God has promised to never leave us, nor forsake us!  If our path takes us into the hospital, the nursing home, or hospice as a prelude to the funeral home, God will shelter us in His arms and secure us in His love.  “Great Is Thy faithfulness!” is our testimony now and will be our theme forever!

TRAVELING THE TWILIGHT TRAIL

Now also when I am old and grayheaded,

O God, do not forsake me,

Until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to everyone who is to come.  (Psalm 71:18)

The day dawns for us and we come kicking and screaming into the world.  We experience the morning of youth.  Next, we advance into the noonday of strength.  Before you know it, we arrive in the afternoon of aging.  Nightfall is coming—“life’s setting sun is sinking low, a few more days and I must go,” as the old Gospel song puts it.  Then, we are traveling the twilight trail.  I am not there yet, but the signs along the road indicate it will not be that far away.  You may still be the bright light of early adulthood and think this to be the least of your concerns.  So did I.  I assure you life’s day will race by.

The Psalmist points to THE PAST and shares his TESTIMONY (Ps.71:5-8).  The twilight trail is a time for remembering the faithfulness of God.  We can imagine the writer’s eyes filling with tears of gratitude for the goodness and grace of God he has seen—those tears running down the furrows of his face, gashes plowed by time.  He boldly asserts his hope in God.  The Lord had been the ground of his trust from youth, and had never failed him.  God had not only been solid ground to stand on, but had been a strong guard to shelter in—providing stability and security.  The twilight trail is a time for singing, “Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come.  ‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”

The writer describes THE PRESENT and speaks of his TRIALS (Ps.71:9-13).  He is weary from warfare—and would like to lay his armor down—but he finds there are still foes to face.  I recall when I was young some aged saints singing, “When the battle’s over, we shall wear a crown…” yet, while we are here, the battle is not over.  Life is full of struggles—trials and temptations bringing relentless assault.  Like the psalmist, we may feel our will to fight is waning, and our strength to stand is sagging.  It may seem that God has forsaken us when trials become a torrent as we travel the twilight trail.  Our minds may be plagued by demons of despair and our bodies beset by distress of disease.  We can still call upon the Lord with confidence that He will come to our aid. 

The sacred songwriter concludes with THE PROSPECTS and affirms the promise of TRIUMPH (Ps.71:14-21).  His voice does not have the perfect pitch it did in youth—finding it cracking at times—still, he retains his song of hope and praise.  Traveling the twilight trail reminds him that his days are few, but since he does not know how many, he will not waste time worrying about God’s business (how many days He gives), but will concern himself with his business (how much good he can do).  There is strength enough to do all God wants because He will not enlist us without empowering us.  The aged must draw out of the vast well of experience wisdom to share with a younger generation.

Someday we all come to the twilight trail.  Will we look back with rejoicing or regret?   Will we stand or stumble in our struggle?  Will we finish as a winner or with a whimper?