5 Times God Shows His Faithfulness

19 June 2017 Year A

Psalm 105:7-45

Psalm 105 is a hymn of praise for the faithfulness of God to His people. The psalmist begins by describing “5 Ways to Show Appreciation to God for His Faithfulness.” Yet, the Psalm doesn’t end there. The psalmist continues to explain through five different examples why God can be trusted to be faithful.

The psalmist looks back at the Israel and recounts how God has been faithful. He uses important times that defined a certain era – an era in which God was clearly faithful to His people.

As one looks at these examples, one will begin to see that these same five times will occur in our lives well.

5 TIMES GOD SHOWS HIS FAITHFULNESS

1. A time of promise-keeping (Psalm 105:7-15)

The psalmist reminds the reader that God didn’t just make a covenant or promise to His people. God kept the promise He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Psalm 105:8). God remembered that He made a solemn promise to these three men and kept it throughout the entire time of Israel’s existence.

There was a Christian movement that swept through the United States in the 1990s, a quasi-revival movement known as “Promise Keepers.” These gatherings brought men into various stadiums throughout the cities of the United States to encourage and uplift men to be promise keepers in their homes, churches, and communities.

God is the ultimate “Promise Keeper.” He doesn’t just make promises and break them. He keeps His promises. It may be hard to see that a promise God made will come true, but one must have faith that God will keep His promise. There is going to be a time when I need to remember that God will remember me and keep His promise.

2. A time of protection (Psalm 105:16-22)   

Perhaps, like Joseph, you were picked on. Perhaps, like Jacob and his family, you fell upon hard times. So you moved (in Joseph’s case unwillingly) to another place, wondering if you would make it in this new strange land. What did you discover? Like Jacob’s family and Joseph, you discover that God protected you. He provided for your security. He helped you make it through the hard times.

3. A time of new experiences (Psalm 105:23-25)

Living in another culture gives one a special kind of experience. You learn a new language, eat different foods, and see things with different eyes. For a brief time, God’s people lived through a positive cross-cultural experience. An ancient form of cross-cultural exchange. The people of Israel shared stories about God. All the while, they received the benefits of living in Egypt. They lived in Egypt and there was no need to go back home. The leader knew Joseph and had a positive relationship with Israel.

The same is true in my relationship with God. I will go through times when I have new experiences. Perhaps I go on a retreat, or I have a cross-cultural church exchange. I pick up new ideas, but I also learn something new about God.

4. A time of deliverance (Psalm 105:26-36)

I know what you are thinking: “Hey, it didn’t stay so positive for long. They became slaves.” Well, it didn’t start out that way for the people of Israel. Sometimes, it doesn’t stay that way for you either.

You go through a new experience and you think everything is fine. Then one day you wake up and things have changed. Your spouse isn’t the same person you once married. Friends are not acting so nice anymore. Your boss changed. These changes in circumstances cause you to pray to God.

You pray that God will deliver you out of the situation.

5. A time of wandering (Psalm 105:37-45)

God delivers you out of the Egypt and into the desert. He delivers you through a wandering experience. You end up at a place where God shows you that He kept His promise to you. You just didn’t realize it when He first shared with you the promise. Yet, no matter what time you are in, God is ultimately still faithful. You have to trust Him through all of the times, from promise-keeping to wandering. In the end, God will deliver on His promise.

Photo by Ryan Winterbotham on Unsplash