My friends in Haiti are isolated from the world again after the gangs fired on a commercial plane and the airport was closed this week. They were ousted from their homes for over a year while fighting raged around them and they went into hiding. They have shown up for teen and preteen kids who are watching their friends die, and who are still healing from their pasts. These ladies are creating family in a place that is constantly under pressure from evil and craziness. I am so blown away by their faithfulness.
I speak to several woman who are raising kids while dealing with debilitating illness and chronic pain in themselves. They show up for their families in the ways they can while desperately surviving their own health journeys. I know they often feel like they are failing, like they can’t do what other moms can do. But I stand in awe of their faithfulness to keep showing up.
My pastor couple has been through rejection after rejection by the people they serve, and by so many strangers. People can be incredibly cruel as they attack other people who supposedly share their faith. This husband and wife team continues to serve others in humility, to love even in the face of rejection, and to keep pouring out their lives at every turn. Their faithfulness is a beautiful picture of Jesus to so many.
My friend Mike Wells wrote a book called Untold Stories of Unknown Saints, and I love the simple testimonies of so many around the globe who remained faithful to their God even in the face of incredible suffering and trial. Mike himself was cheated, betrayed, rejected and kicked out of places, but continued to pursue hurting, defeated people who needed hope. He pursued Jesus faithfully until his death in 2011.
I talked to people every day who continue to be faithful to God even in the face of anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, loss, instability, insecurity, fear for the future, and so much more. They continue to show up for their lives even when sometimes it would be easier (in theory) to check out. They continue to do battle with pain that feels like it will end them.
I know that each of these people will never look on themselves as faithful in and of themselves, but they recognize they have a big God who has been faithful to them and who calls them into faithfulness, empowering them each day. And when I want to quit and throw in the towel, they become beacons of hope for me to continue on, pressing on toward the high calling of the One who called us to Himself. He is faithful, and will bring us to completion, never abandoning us in the journey.
If you don’t have enough to stay faithful in whatever you are called to today, just ask Him. He will be enough for remaining faithful even when you know you can’t on your own. You don’t have to be enough—He is already. You have all of Him, and He shows up every time you call for help. I pray for each of you to remain faithful to the One who has called you to Himself, not because you are incredibly faithful people but because He is enough for that too.
The one who calls you by name is trustworthy and will thoroughly complete his work in you. 1 Thessalonians 5:24