Our Faithful God

Posted: May 5, 2023

Our Faithful God - Psalm 59:16-17

by Melody Slawter

“But I will sing of your strength
and will joyfully proclaim
your faithful love in the morning.
For you have been a stronghold for me,
a refuge in my day of trouble.
To you, my strength, I sing praises,
because God is my stronghold —
my faithful God.”
Psalm 59:16-17

God has been a stronghold for me. He has made Himself known as a fortress for me, and as my faithful God. Not just a faithful God, but as mine.

Sometimes it’s so much easier to believe God’s promises and faithfulness for other people than it is to really believe it for ourselves. To feel the truth that He sees us, He hears us, He is working all things for our good, and He will not let us down. To feel the truth of how greatly and deeply He loves us and how intensely He cares about our circumstances, our hurts, our confusion.

We might feel like Job, crying out, “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.” But oh, believer, Job goes on to speak the truth to which we can hold: “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold” (Job 23:9-10).

He knows the way that you take. He knows it because He has gone before you here. And He goes behind you as your rear guard, hemming you in with His loving, protective hand. And He is here, right here where you are, in compassion and love and power as your stronghold.

I have struggled to believe this, sensing our spiritual enemy’s lies whispered to me, telling me that whatever promise I am considering isn’t true for me, not here. But those are lies. So we turn again to God’s Scriptures and cling to the truth He tells us, the truth about who He is and what He declares for us. We turn our hearts toward Him and we fall on His grace, resting in the knowledge that when we are faithless, He remains faithful – that His faithfulness is grounded in His unchanging character and is not dependent on our own steadfastness (2 Timothy 2:13). He is faithful regardless to all who are His. And when we come to Him for refuge, He will prove Himself strong and faithful and enough for us, even if our faith is wavering as we approach.

“I will keep watch for you, my strength, because God is my stronghold. My faithful God will come to meet me; God will let me look down on my adversaries” (Psalm 59:9-10). Reading through these verses reminded me of Jesus’ words to one of the churches in Revelation, “Note this: I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9). This strikes me as such a powerful picture. Our spiritual enemy is strong and fierce, but he and his lies will not win, and they do not determine our story or the truth that holds us. Jesus has already declared that in the end, He will make our enemies come and bow down at our feet, and they will know that He has loved us. They will know that He has loved you.

Because in the end, all will see that God has never let you down. He has remained steadfast and faithful through it all. Through every moment, He has seen and heard and sustained. He has been your very present help, your light, your strength, your stronghold. He has loved you. With a love that does not waver.

Abide in Him, believer, and in His love. His Word, His truth will abide in you. And no matter what you face, you will be able to sing these words with the psalmist, because His promises prove true for you as well:

“This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”
Psalm 18:30