Faithful

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/031716.cfm) reminds me that God keeps his word. 

In the first reading, God made a covenant to Abram. God told Abram that he shall now be called Abraham, and that he will be the father of nations. Probably this was not too easy for Abraham to believe. Why? Because when this happened, he was ninety-nine years old! To be told that he will be the father of nations was probably something he would not take seriously. However, Abraham believed in God. He hoped against hope and just trusted in God. 

Good news – God really keeps his word!

We see in the gospel that indeed, God kept his word. The Jews have high regard for their father Abraham. Though they cannot see and understand who Jesus is because they are blinded by their hardened hearts, we still see that God kept his covenant to Abraham – that he became the father of nations. That people looked up to Him. 

God keeps our covenant to us. He will keep his word – that he will take care of us, that he has great plans for us, that he will protect us, that he will love us. No matter what we are facing right now, God’s covenant still holds true. 

Do we trust Him like Abraham did?

Maybe not always. When faced with the obvious and probable, we tend to out God in the back seat. We think that God is powerless against the obvious in this world. We think God cannot do anything against the powers of this world. Maybe this is how Abraham felt at times. But he held on to his faith. 

We need to keep our part of the covenant. We need to do what Abraham did. We need to follow God, trust him, and serve Him while we are waiting for his plans to happen. Things don't happen overnight. Great things take time.  Does this mean that God will only keep his part if we keep ours? Probably not… but if we wont keep our part, it’s like us saying we don’t want God to keep his part. IF we wont submit to his will, it will be hard for him to make his great plans for us come true. If we run away from him, it will be hard for him to protect us. IF we do not take care of ourself and others, it will be hard for God to take care of us. If we continue to sin and harden our hearts towards him, it will be hard for him to make his love alive in our lives, because we don’t allow God to love us.

The psalmist is right – the Lord remembers his covenant forever… he is faithful, so should we.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for the timely reminder. Thank you for reminding me that you will always be faithful to your covenant. Thank you. I am sorry for the many times I broke my word to other people. I am sorry for the many times I broke my promises to you. Lord, I ask that you help me to be faithful to my word. Help me keep my promises – to other people and most especially, to you. Help me be faithful to you. Help me submit myself to your wlll. Help me be focused on you and on serving and loving you, and not to be distracted with the lies the world tells me. I will continue to love you, serve you, and trust you while I Wait for your great plans for me to come into fruition.  Amen.

Blessed day! 

In Christ,

-g-

Ps

See related reflections:
http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2013/03/faithful-forever.html
http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2013/10/inheritance.html