He is Faithful

by Dr. Paul Chappell

"And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever."

2 Samuel 7:12-16

What God has promised you, He will fulfill.

A woman was once driving through Oregon over the Cascade Range and ran into a snowstorm. She had never driven in snow before and became very frightened. She could either continue on in the storm, stop to buy snow chains, or spend the night in a nearby town. As she pondered her options, she peered ahead and saw a snowplow. She could follow the plow and miss the worst of the driving conditions! Rejoicing in her fortune, she kept as close to the truck as she could while it removed snow from the road. At times the heavy snowfall almost cut off her view, but her faithful guide kept on leading the way. After some time, the plow stopped and its driver got out and walked over to her car. "Lady, where are you going?" he asked. "I'm on my way to Central Oregon," she replied. "Well," he said, "you'll never get there following me! I'm plowing this parking lot!"

Do you ever feel like you're trying to plow through life's storms only to find out you're going in circles? The storms of life have an odd way of confusing us and leading us down the wrong path. Yet there is one certain way we can find the right path even during difficulties and that's by following God's direction.

David continues his last words to Israel by reminding them of a promise God had made him (and had kept), "Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow" (2 Samuel 23:5). David refers to the Davidic Covenant God had made with him in 2 Samuel 7. God promised to prosper David and enlarge his kingdom, and God had been faithful to fulfill His promise.

Notice the phrase "Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure." This statement speaks of the failure of man but the faithfulness of God. Man will fail in keeping promises to other men as well as to God. Surely, you've witnessed this fact in your own life. But God on the other hand will always remain faithful when He makes a covenant or promise.

D.L. Moody once described things this way, "Trust in yourself, and you are doomed to disappointment; trust in your friends, and they will die and leave you; trust in reputation, and some slanderous tongue may blast it; but trust in God, and you are never to be confounded in time or eternity."

What God has promised you, He will fulfill. He is always faithful to come through on promises. As Moody said, placing faith in other people, no matter how much they love you or how good their intentions are, will ultimately lead to disappointment. Even good people fail. Yet when you place your faith in God and claim the promises of His Word each day, you will never be disappointed.

Spend time reading God's Word right now. Perhaps choose a few Psalms or Proverbs to review. Look for promises God gives you, and personally claim them today. Hold on to them for God will not leave them unfulfilled.