by Kevin Lorow, Cuyahoga Valley Church Worship Arts Assistant
SONG OF THE WEEK: The Lord Our God – Kristian Stanfill
“The Lord our God is ever faithful, never changing through the ages. From this darkness you will lead us. And forever we will sing, You’re the Lord our God!”
Promise-maker, promise-keeper. You finish what You begin. Our provision through the desert, You see us through till the end.
It’s important for us to remember that God ALWAYS keeps His Word. You may have heard the statement before that “you can’t out God in a box”. This is true, but only to an extent! This statement used to be stated to remind us that God can work in ways beyond that which we anticipate or believe to be possible. However, God CAN put Himself in a box, and He does often. He has told us that we can trust Him because He is working for our good and for His glory in Romans 8. He has told us that he will never change in James chapter 1! Because God tells us that He will never lie, we know that we can trust Him to always be who He says He is! He will never fail us or become something or someone different! We know that no matter what comes, He remains faithful.
This is something that we must be reminded of, because frankly it is easy for us to forget. The trials and tribulations of this life cause our faith to waver. However, I’m confident God foresaw the weakness of our trust in Him, and chose to remind us repeatedly that we can trust Him in His Word. Consider a few treasured reminders of His unchanging nature.
- Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
- Malachi 3:6 – “For I the Lord do not change…”
- James 1:17 – “Every good gift and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights of whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
- Numbers 23:19 – “God is not man that He should lie, or a son of man that He should change His mind… Has he spoken, and will He not fulfill it?”
- Isaiah 40:8 – “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever.”
- Hebrews 16:8 – “…It is impossible for God to lie… have strong encouragement by holding fast to the hope set before us.”
There are many other passages that can remind us of this blessed truth! Why is it important to remember God’s faithfulness? The story in Joshua 9 is a sad example of what happens when we walk by our sight instead… So far through the book of Joshua, we’ve seen the Lord lead Joshua and the Israelites throughout the Promised Land, and do a serious number on its inhabitants. Joshua was a heavily successful leader, and the Israelites were hated. Many tribes and people groups joined together and attacked Israel, to no avail.
Another people group called the Gibeonites did something far more devious. They had heard about Israel and their God, and did not expect to beat them in battle. So they dressed themselves poorly and sent some messengers to Joshua, pretending to be from a land far away desiring to pay their respect to Joshua and Israel (when in reality they lived right next door! They went to Joshua and asked him for a peace treaty. Here is where the nation’s pride got the better of them.
Joshua 9:14,15 reads “the men examined some of their provisions, but they failed to ask the Lord’s advice. Joshua made a peace treaty with them and agreed to let them live.”
Joshua failed to seek the Lord’s wisdom in this key moment! Throughout the story of Joshua so far, He is quick to ask the Lord for guidance, but in this small thing Joshua thought He could do it on His own. This sin led to consequences from the nation for generations to come.
This story is a solemn reminder of why we must faithfully seek the Lord’s wisdom. Perhaps that’s why the lyrics of the bridge are so important for us to sing “We won’t move with You. We won’t move without You. You’re the light of all, and all that we need.” May we walk in the Lord’s guidance, and trust Him to reveal His way for us, to avoid the traps of our sinful pride that so easily ensnare.
