Faithful and True

This morning, I woke up to an overcast, heather-grey sky that seemed to stretch for miles upon miles. The clouds casted a shadow on everything in sight and creation stood with a dull and frigid rigidity. In no way did my window view tempt me to escape the warmth of my bed and seek the outside world. And as a lover of all-things-morning, I sure did wonder what the sunrise looked like, but the clouds obstructed my view. Interestingly enough, God used this drab scene to get my attention.

This drab morning "skyscape" resembles so much that goes on in life! Our everyday lives on earth seem to change just as frequently as the weather. One day we're chipper, happy-go-lucky, and brimming with joy. But just as quickly as that kind of wonderfully sunny day can come, we scuff around in the dumps of emotion, barely able to genuinely smile at the people that pass us by. We're fickle! But despite these rapid changes, we can be sure of God's consistent character:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8

Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
Revelation 19:11

For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:16-20

The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
Deuteronomy 23:4

O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
Psalm 89:8

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
Deuteronomy 7:9

God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:9

Scripture tells the beautiful story of God's undeniably perfect faithfulness, and we can trust that God will never go back on His Word because it is true! Though our perception may suggest otherwise, God isn't the One who is changing in our daily lives. He is more faithful than the sun in the sky! It is the clouds that are fickle. We cannot--We must not!--base our perception of who God is and what He is like on the way we feel, our circumstances, or what other people say. When I wondered what the sunrise looked like behind the clouds this morning, I remembered other sunrises I have seen before. There is a pattern of faithfulness in the rising and setting of the sun each day. In the same way, God has a pattern as well and His story is found the only reliable source of truth--the Word of God. Feelings and circumstances are always changing but the character of God is faithful. The sun is the constant; the clouds are the variables.

But do be have to be bound to the likeness of the fickle clouds that are always changing? Should we resemble the heather-grey clouds that cast a drab shadow or the Source of Light hidden somewhere beneath the thick layer of clouds? Though I believe God is aware of our weak, human flesh (Psalm 103:14), I wonder if He has a greater plan for us than allowing our emotions and circumstances cloud the incandescent light He wishes to shine through us:

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
Ephesians 5:1-2

Do all things without grumbling or disputing so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.
Philippians 2:14-16

It's all too typical to respond to life's clouds with melancholy attitude, slumping through the overcast day until the sun pierces the horizon again. Yes, we have human emotions, and yes, life circumstances often bring pain, sorrow, and frustration; but shouldn't the reliable reputation and perpetual presence of the faithful character of God be enough to find joy in everyday life? The Almighty-God, Creator of the universe, Maker of everything is always with us and always loves us! He sustains our breath and keeps our hearts beating! He has so graciously given us a beautiful planet to live on, packed full of color and life! No matter how thick the clouds are and no matter how long the Son hasn't been seen, all His promises are still true and the clouds cannot last forever. There is always a reason to praise God, and in that, can't we always offer Him rejoicing lips out of a grateful heart?

Though I think it's safe to say that we prefer sunny, blue-sky days where joy comes easily, we can rest assured of God's faithful promises, no matter how thick the clouds may get. God is always Faithful and always True. And with that blessed assurance, I can smile.

Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, LORD, my faithful God.
Psalm 31:5