Here is a brief word that Jesus has ministered to my heart. I hope it blesses you too...

I was reading chapter 31 in the book of Deuteronomy. At this point in the book, Moses is preparing to hand over the ministry to Joshua, knowing that he (Moses) will not be alive to go with the Israelites into the Promised Land. As he is commissioning Joshua, this is part of what he says:

"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Surely, these words are true for us too, and have been quoted many times. The New Testament quotes them in Hebrews 13:5.

It struck me, that later in the same chapter of Deuteronomy, God tells Moses (while he and Joshua are appearing before the Lord together) about what will be happening in the future, after Moses' death. He tells him about how the Israelites will forsake Him, after He fulfills His promises by bringing them into the "Promised Land". He says the following:

"I know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath."

Did you get that? If not, you may want to read it again... Now I consider that amazing. What type of love must God have for His people (including us, by the way) that He would know beforehand that they weren't going to uphold their end of the "bargain" (the covenant He had made with them); and yet He proceeds to fulfill the promises made to their forefathers, by bringing them into the Promised Land anyway? A greater love than I can fathom, that's for sure. If I were in His place in that situation and I knew they'd be unfaithful, surely I would think twice about bothering to bless them.

But not God. 2 Timothy 2:13 says "If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself." There is a great mystery to this purity and endurance of the love of God. He knows our weakness and how short we fall, yet because His very nature is good, loving, pure and right, He remains committed to our "best" nonetheless... And when He makes a promise, He fulfills it (unlike some of us, sometimes).

I don't know about you, but for me, that causes a well of gratitude to rise up in my heart ... asking His help to change this wandering heart of mine, so that I might be able to follow Him with all that is within me. Go to God's Amazing Faithfulness Part 2.