Who are your people? Who are those closest to you? Why are they your people? I feel fortunate to have many good friends in my life. Some of those relationships span decades, some not nearly as long. But there are similarities in each one. Beyond shared interests and similar personalities, what creates the bonds that grow stronger over time? Is there a common characteristic that can be found in each of your closest relationships? For me, while a shared interest or similar life situation may have helped spark the relationship, the reason for the strong bond is far deeper than that. Deep relationships are built upon trust. Your closest friends may share your love for sports, reading, music, hunting, or whatever it is that brought you together, but the reason they are your people is because you can count on them when life goes sideways. You can depend on them. You can believe them when they make a promise because they are faithful to keep it.
Similarly, for those that believe in and worship the Creator God and follow His Son, Jesus, we do so because we have found Him to be true, faithful, and trustworthy. But, we do so by faith. The Bible defines faith in Hebrews 11 as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. It is believing in something or someone without tangible, physical proof. For example, salvation through Jesus is completely dependent upon faith. We are called to believe in faith that Jesus bled and died a horrible death as a sacrifice, so that we can be forgiven of sin and set free from our deserved punishment. God gives us the faith to believe, but our faith grows stronger when we see evidence of what we believe by faith. For example, in the Bible, we read about prophecies fulfilled. We read about promises made by God that He faithfully kept. When we see and experience that God is faithful and trustworthy, it builds our faith to believe Him for more.
This was Abraham’s story. He was called by God and promised that he would be the father of many nations. An incredible promise to be sure, but there was one major issue. At age 75, he didn’t have any children and his wife, Sarah, was 65 and barren. Yet, they believed. Skipping a lot of details to the end of that story, when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old, God kept His promise and blessed them with a son. They kept believing and God proved Himself faithful and worthy of trust. In Romans 4:20-21, Paul writes concerning Abraham’s faith in God’s promise. He writes: “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” When God makes a promise, He keeps it.
In our world today, it is not necessarily easy to find the kind of friends that are faithful, that you can trust, that keep promises, and that you can count on, no matter what. If you have friends like that, consider yourself blessed, and furthermore, prove yourself to be that kind of friend. In Jesus, we have that kind of friend. God is faithful to keep His Word. His Word is bound to His holiness and character. He does not lie. He cannot break a promise. He is faithful to the end. You can trust Him. I challenge you to give Him a chance to confirm this in your life today!
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