God is the only One who never disappoints. From the beginning of time, His Word has remained true. Every prophecy is a promise that has been or will be fulfilled.
Perhaps the greatest of these foretellings were the ones that told of the Messiah, and throughout the ages, believers longed for His coming. Prophets spoke about the Anointed One (2 Sam. 7:12-16; Isa. 7:14; Isa. 9:6; Dan. 9:25 NIV; Micah 5:2). Although there was no further prophecy on the subject during the four centuries leading up to Christ’s birth, when the time was right, Jesus came to reconcile mankind to the Father.
Surely, people must have questioned whether the Savior would ever come. After all, 400 years is a long time to wait without any word. But, as history proves, God never falls short on His promises. He is trustworthy, even when His timetable differs from what we hoped.
Knowing this, we can read Scripture’s assurances with expectation. For instance, if we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior and choose to follow Him, the Bible promises our salvation. We can rest assured that we are forgiven and redeemed. What’s more, nothing can separate us from God’s love (Rom. 8:38-39), and we can trust that He will provide everything we need to accomplish His purpose in our lives.
These are but a few foundational promises; the Word contains many more. Consider God’s faithfulness throughout the Bible and in your own life, and realize that He will be steadfast in the future as well. By living obediently, you can have full confidence that He will do all He has promised.
All of us experience times when our circumstances seem unbearable, prayers appear to go unanswered, and the Lord feels distant. When that happens, we may wonder if He is the same as we once believed Him to be. During such times of helplessness, faith falters for some people yet grows stronger for others. What causes these opposite responses to suffering?
The key is simply one’s understanding of and trust in God’s faithfulness. This term means that the Lord never changes—He always does what is right, remains true to His promises, and is 100 percent reliable. In other words, we can trust our almighty God, regardless of our situation or attitude.
Our understanding of God relates to this concept. Do we trust Him enough to obey, even when obedience seems foolish? Are we so confident He hears and answers prayer that we consistently bring requests before His throne, even when we don’t see an immediate response? Are we daily sacrificing our selfish desires and patterns of living because we believe His promise of eternity, joy, and peace? An answer of “no” may indicate a deficient understanding of God’s character. That’s why reading the Bible is so important—through Scripture’s countless illustrations of our Father’s attributes, we learn who He is and increasingly trust Him.
Thankfully, God’s faithfulness does not depend on our circumstances, our feelings, or even our own faithfulness. He is true to His Word and true to Himself. How would your life look different if you had complete confidence that God was trustworthy and unchanging?
John 10:28
If you have trusted in Jesus Christ and yet continually doubt your salvation, then your whole life is thrown off balance. Key areas of faith begin to crumble, and you limit the work of the Holy Spirit in and through you. It is impossible to live an effective, empowered, Spirit-filled life if you are always wondering whether you are saved. Why, then, do believers so often doubt? Let’s consider five key reasons:
1. Sin. When disobedience is present in a person’s life, his prayers will be hindered, as will his grasp of spiritual ideas. So it’s understandable that sin can confuse a believer’s thoughts about salvation.
2. False Teaching. If you’ve been taught that salvation is dependent upon good works, then you have been misled.
3. Overemphasis on Emotions. Too often, the experience of being saved is tied to an emotional high. This leads many people to doubt their salvation during times of life’s natural “emotional lows.”
4. Disbelief. Acts 16:31 clearly states, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” If you’ve made this saving confession, then you are saved. Doubting the truth of this statement means that you fail to take God at His word.
5. Satanic Attack. The enemy’s goal is to alienate us from God. One of his most effective tactics is to cause us to question our standing with the Lord.
If you doubt your salvation, prayerfully examine your heart. Are any of these falsehoods corroding your faith? Allow the Lord to comfort you with His love—and the truth of your salvation.
Our quiet presence during someone else’s time of pain says more than any words of advice ever can. A grieving widow, for example, doesn’t need to hear our own tale of loss; she needs an arm around her shoulder so she realizes that she is not alone.
Think about the times that we bring our burdens before the Lord in prayer. Simply experiencing His presence lightens the weight we have been carrying. God’s response to our pain is a clear demonstration of how important it is to make ourselves available and listen to our neighbors. No matter how inadequate we might feel, we all can share a burden by spending time with a friend who is enduring hardship.
The Holy Spirit will let us know when words are not necessary and when it’s the right moment to speak. That oftentimes becomes our opportunity to share how the Lord has worked in our life during a painful period. When we give the Holy Spirit total control, He will bring to mind situations, emotions, and the ways God helped us. We can use those things to minister to others: Hurting people grab onto kindred stories as if to a lifeline. It gives them hope to reason that since the Lord shepherded one person through a valley of darkness, He will surely be faithful to do the same for another.
Our Spirit-developed compassion may require us to give our burdened neighbor other types of help—even material aid. It’s easy to pray for a friend or share our story with a church member, but we cannot limit ourselves to those things. If we are willing to be used by our heavenly Father, we must be open to His leading about how to offer assistance.
In Matthew 22:39, Jesus tells us the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves. The best way to demonstrate care for relatives, friends, neighbors, and church family is to follow the Lord’s example and bear their burdens. Not only did the Savior take our sin debt upon Himself at Calvary; He also shared in the hurts of those who sought His comfort: blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46), the woman caught in adultery (John 8:3-11), and those who were demon-oppressed (Matt. 4:24). Jesus doesn’t discriminate with regard to whose burdens He will carry.
We are often tempted to be selective in choosing which acquaintances to help. According to Jesus’ example, we cannot bear someone else’s burdens based upon whether that person has lived up to some standard we have set. There are people who will never dress like us, hold opinions similar to ours, or share our interests. But those same people might be hurting and in need of somebody to help carry their difficulties. A genuine expression of godly love can transform the life of a person weighed down by struggles.
Even when we understand that lifting the weight of someone else’s load fulfills the law of Christ, Christians are frequently tempted to pass such responsibility to a pastor or Sunday school teacher. But the Lord intends something different for the lives of His children. Our unique experiences equip us to help in ways that the pastor or teacher—who have different experiences—cannot. Ask God how you can begin to help bear the burden of neighbors who are hurting.
