This weekend marks my 60^th birthday AND my 199^th Heading to Heaven post. 

Neither of those events are probably all that significant to you.  But they are to me.  I’m honestly not sure which is less likely: to have reached 60 years old or to have shared almost 200 posts over the past 3 ¾ years. 

Those who know me well know that I was a wild one when I was young.  Not immorally wild, but risk-taker wild.  It is not an exaggeration to state that I should have been killed multiple times due to some of my adventurous and impetuous decisions.  Yet, here I am.

Nor was it ever an expectation of mine to share a weekly blog for almost four years.  Not in my wildest dreams.  Yet, here it is … with great thanks to all who follow this website and read its posts.

Neither of these significant (to me) events would have happened were it not for our faithful God. 

And as I considered what to share in this post to mark both (significant?) occasions, I really wanted to share something … significant.  I prayed about it and pondered it.  The conclusion I drew crystallized quickly and clearly: our awesome Lord is always faithful. 

You nod your head and think, “Well, of course he is!  I already know that.”  But when was the last time you really considered this attribute of God?

The Lord is many wonderful and incredible things, certainly.  But perhaps the very best of them (at least in regard to his dealing with us) is summarized with that all-encompassing adjective “faithful.”

It’s a description of God that is used often in the Scriptures … and especially in the hymns of God’s Old Testament people (the psalms).  Over-and-over-again the Lord is praised for his faithfulness.  In fact, one of the refrains used repeatedly in the psalms are these words: “Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies” (Psalm 36:5).

Not only is the concept of God’s faithfulness rejoiced in, but the extent of the concept is as well!  The Lord’s “faithfulness reaches to the skies” (Ps. 36:5), “continues through all generations” (Ps. 100:5), and, in fact, “endures forever!” (Ps. 117:2).  He is “a compassionate and gracious God, … abounding in love and faithfulness” (Ps. 86:15), and “faithful in all he does” (Ps. 33:4).

Of course, the ultimate example of God’s faithfulness was literally embodied in the incarnate Jesus. 

In his birth: “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship” (Galatians 4:4-5).

In his death: “… [Jesus] was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

In his resurrection from the dead: “God … raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:24-25).

And in his ascension, resuming his heavenly reign, and his ultimate return … as Jesus himself said: “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3).

Faithfulness throughout!  From the Lord’s first promise of the Savior in the Garden of Eden to the fulfillment of that promise in Jesus to the moment when God’s believers are ushered into heaven … God is faithful.  Always faithful.  Were he not, we would not be saved.

This is incredible!  But God’s faithfulness isn’t reserved only for our redemption and salvation.

It extends to our physical lives as well, impacting us on a daily level.

We wake up each morning, our heart beating and our body functioning, because God is faithful.  We climb out of our beds in homes God has provided, get dressed in clothes God has given, and eat breakfasts God has supplied … all because of his faithfulness.  And our day is just beginning! 

If only we open our spiritual eyes, we see the bounty of God’s faithfulness all around us all day long, every single day.

Even in the confusion of our uncertainty and the deep dark of our difficulties, our Lord is faithful.  His inspired Word assures us that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28).  And who doesn’t need that comfort now and again?

Many were the times I floundered through the dreary valley of extreme challenges – wondering, struggling, seeking, longing, praying – only to emerge in the Son-light and find Jesus smiling at me, and to realize in astonishment that he had been faithfully holding my hand and leading me all along (Mt. 28:20).  I suspect you have experienced the same.

Our God is eternally and extraordinarily faithful.  It’s who he is!  This is true in hugely important things … and in seemingly insignificant ones.  The events of our lives are all tied together in a lovely and loving chain of God’s faithfulness.

60 years.  199 posts.  Those benchmarks occurred only because the Lord is faithful.  The same is true of every other “accomplishment” and blessing I … or you! … have ever experienced.

Indeed, “your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies” (Psalm 36:5).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Psalm 89 – selected verses
¹ I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. ² I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

⁵ The heavens praise your wonders, Lord, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. ⁶ For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord? Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings? ⁷ In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him. ⁸ Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

¹³ Your arm is endowed with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted. ¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. ¹⁵ Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord. ¹⁶ They rejoice in your name all day long; they celebrate your righteousness. ¹⁷ For you are their glory and strength …

⁵² Praise be to the Lord forever! Amen and Amen.