“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Revelation 2:10 (ESV)
Imagine how a child living in Haiti must feel about walking to school for hours in the early morning, having had nothing to eat but knowing and expecting that there will be a plate of food for them at school; it is always there…like their Heavenly Father…always there. That is a face of faithfulness. God is always faithful to them and to us. Faithfulness is not a word that we hear very often in North America these days. Sometimes we hear it at retirement gatherings; “After 40 years of faithful service, we present you with this gold watch.” Perhaps you have a dog that has lived with your family for 15 years, what a faithful friend old Buck has been through all these years.
About the only really faithful thing that I ever saw as a child was Old Faithful in Yellowstone, the Park Service had a clock that told visitors when it was going to erupt; I remember that we watched it spew water twice. In North America we love things that are on time, every time, every day…we love things that are faithful.
The five girls sitting at their school desk in Ouanaminthe are basking in the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. One of His children in North America parted with a $1.25 so they would have a lunch on this particular day in October, 2010. It is not easy finding somebody who can be counted on every day, all of the time; somebody who will be faithful to the very end. Not all of the people who are donating funds to feed these five girls in Ouanaminthe may be there next month or next year; our Heavenly Father may have other plans for them.
God has always re-loaded Trinity/HOPE with new donors, new groups have stepped up, grants from various sources…always some surprise. God doesn’t want these young heroes of the faith to go hungry, they need to be healthy as they go out and tell about their faithful Heavenly Father who gave His only Son, Who faithfully went to the cross for our sins. The faces in the attached photo know all about faithfulness, they know all about you and they know all about their Heavenly Father.
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay