Great is Thy Faithfulness

by Paula M.
from Virtuous Daughters, April 2012~Volume 12, Number 1

My Dear Sisters in Christ,

When I saw the topic for this month, I knew that I had to write. There is no end to our God’s faithfulness and as His children, we have the honor, privilege, and responsibility to share His faithfulness with each other and with the lost! “God is faithful, by Whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9 I could share with you many stories of how God has shown Himself faithful to me. Our family just got back from a wonderful vacation in Florida and every day there were testimonies and blessings after blessings both “big” and “small.” “But the Lord is faithful, Who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3 

Out of all the testimonies that I could share with you there is one that sticks out to me the most. It is a humbling testimony and one that God used to teach me a very valuable lesson—God is ALWAYS faithful and to never ever doubt Him in that!!! So here is my testimony to you girls:
 
As a young girl and even now I have always loved anything “old-fashioned”—antique kitchen utensils, clothing, furniture, and pretty much the whole way of life. I loved being able to go to Laura Ingalls Wilder days, dress up as Laura and take part in the weaving, candle making, spinning, etc.....Throughout the years we had either made or purchased an assortment of old-fashioned dresses for us girls to wear. There was one dress that we had that was my favorite. It was made out of a beautiful maroon patterned fabric with a full skirt, long sleeves that would flare out and very prettily detailed cuffs to wear under the sleeves. This dress was usually always my choice when we would go to an “old-fashioned” event and so it was a couple years ago when God taught me my lesson.
 
I was getting things together in preparation to go to another one of these events when I realized that the cuffs to that pretty dress were missing. In the past when I was looking for something, I would usually always ask the Lord to help me find whatever it was and…He was always faithful in helping me find it, usually within the first minute of me asking. That day though, I remember distinctly saying to myself, “You know, this time I’m not going to ask the Lord to help me find those cuffs. I’m just going to see if all those other times were just coincidences.” So, I started my search. I looked almost everywhere throughout the whole house. I searched for almost two hours and would probably still be looking for them if it wasn’t for the faithfulness of Jesus. I was in our classroom when the Lord put a deep conviction and grieving on my heart for what I had done. I remember stopping in the middle of the classroom and with such shamefulness, asking God to forgive me. (Like the prodigal son, I didn’t feel like I had any right to be asking God to forgive me, yet I found that just as the father in the story, God delights in the return of His children.) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”—1 John 1:9 The most humbling and heart-touching part of what my Heavenly Father did for me was that before I had even said “Amen,” He had me pick up a brown paper bag and reveal to me where those cuffs had been all along if I had just simply asked Him.
 
Our God is Omnipotent, All-Powerful, Loving, Just, Longsuffering, Merciful, Patient, Gracious, Kind, and so very much more!!! As His child, I want to fully use the privilege that He has given to me to shout forth His faithfulness with the time that He has so graciously given to me to proclaim it. “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations.”—Psalm 89:1 I know that I fail so much, but my God is always faithful in giving me another opportunity to exalt His name and I thank Him so much for that.
 
“...Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come: and from the seven spirits which are before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, Who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the  Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”—Revelation 1:4–6