Gratitude Series Episode 18

Hello, my walking friend! How are you doing? Are you glad to be getting a little exercise today? And not just exercise, but a walk with the most faithful of friends – Jesus!

Today is the 18th episode in the gratitude series. In each podcast during this series we will take some time to focus on thanking Jesus for something specific and we will have two different verses to contemplate. Today we will be thanking Jesus for his faithfulness.

Our first verse to meditate on is Psalm 36:5:

Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.

As you walk, look up to the sky. If you are walking during the day, do you see any clouds? Maybe an airplane? The sun? If you are walking in the evening, do you see any stars or the moon? How far away is the sun, the stars, the moon, or even an airplane? To me, they seem so, so far away, unreachable. I can’t even begin to calculate the vastness of the heavens.

That’s the image Jesus gives us to show the greatness of his love and faithfulness. And his faithfulness is not only vast, but it never wavers. Maybe you have been hurt by people who have let you down. Maybe a friend or family member that you thought would be there for you in a time of need. Someone who should have been loyal to you, but turned their backs when the situation became difficult. Maybe you have even had someone be unfaithful to you. I know I have – and it hurts – deeply. But the sad reality is that I am an imperfect, sinful human being and I, too, have let people down.

Thankfully, Jesus isn’t like us! He is not a human being who changes his mind or deserts us when times get tough. He is not a shifting shadow that changes. If you are walking in sunshine today, look at your shadow. Your shadow is a result of the light from the sun shining down on you. It moves when you move. Sometimes, depending on the location of the sun, you can’t even find your shadow. It changes. But Jesus is light, not shadow, he is the source of our light, our life, and he is love and his faithfulness endures forever. Just listen to our second verse, Psalm 100:4-5

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Aren’t you grateful that Jesus isn’t like us? Aren’t you thankful that his love endures forever and his faithfulness didn’t end right before you were born? Quite the contrary! Even though all of his image bearers, us included, have at one time or another rejected him or sinned against him, he doesn’t desert us. Even when we are unfaithful to him, he is faithful to us. Let that sink in. Think about the times you have let down your Lord and Savior, Jesus, and realize that even at your lowest point of regret, he was faithful to you. He’s faithful to you right now. Just think, wherever you go, wherever you walk, he walks with you, whether you acknowledge his presence or not. He is faithful to you. Let your heart embrace this truth – Jesus loves you and his faithfulness endures forever.

Now take a little time to think about these two verses on the faithfulness of Jesus and thank him for who he is.

You are now at the halfway point of your walk. If you need to be back in 10 minutes, this would be the time to turn around and head back.

The second half of our walk is an opportunity for reflection, meditation, and prayer. For many of us, myself included, this might feel challenging. But the spiritual rewards of developing this discipline are great and so is the power of the Holy Spirit to help us. So let’s start with some questions to guide you followed by a short interlude for reflection.

Has anyone ever broken a promise to you or been unfaithful to you? How did that make you feel? Take some time to consider your answer now.

Do you truly believe that Jesus is faithful and that he keeps his promises? If you hesitate to believe or have moments of doubt, ask Jesus to reveal his character to you. Ask him to build your faith in him. Take time to do that now.

Take some time to think about the differences between Jesus and broken human beings, then thank him for who he is.

Now let’s listen again to today’s verses:

Psalm 36:5:
Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.

Psalm 100:4-5
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Is there anything else you would like to talk to Jesus about? Remember, he is right there with you, walking with you, and he is eager for you to share all that is on your heart and mind with him. Take some time to talk to and to thank Jesus now.

Now I am going to pray for us:

Dear Jesus,
Thank you for being faithful even when I am not. I praise your eternal character – your love, faithfulness, goodness, mercy, holiness, righteousness. Thank you for all the ways you have been faithful to me in the past. Help me, Jesus, to trust in your love and faithfulness in every area of my life. Forgive me when I doubt your goodness. Help me stand firm in my faith, especially when life gets hard. Give me wisdom to listen only to your voice and not be distracted by the words of the world. Jesus, I want to be faithful to you as you are faithful to me. Thank you, Jesus, my faithful savior, for always walking with me. Amen.

Well, you did it! Another 10 minutes of walking and another opportunity to build the spiritual discipline of prayer and quiet time with the Lord. I’m grateful for you and I’m grateful you took the time to walk with me today. But more importantly, you walked with Jesus, whose faithfulness knows no bounds.

For more Walk with Jesus resources, including the Walk with Jesus 21 day scripture, devotional, and guided prayer journal book for walkers, go to WalkwithJesusDevotional.com. The November edition focuses on gratitude and is a part of this podcast series. You will find the URL for this book and other resources in the podcast show notes.

I hope we can walk together again tomorrow, friend. In our next episode we will be thanking Jesus for his power . Until then, God bless you as you walk with Jesus.