Hymns With A Message: HE'S BEEN FAITHFUL

Sunday, January 13, 2019

HE'S BEEN FAITHFUL

While there is always a danger of living in the past, sometimes it is important to look back and remember how God was always there when you needed Him. He is a faithful God and being reminded of how He has been faithful to you can be an encouragement as you face the challenges of tomorrow. He has promised never to leave us or forsake us and He never has. He has promised to lead us and provide all that we need, and He always has. This was the experience of Carol Cymbal, especially as she and her husband Jim established a ministry in a tough inner-city neighborhood in New York City. Despite being shy and never learning to read music, she wrote many great Gospel songs while leading the famous Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. But life was filled with many difficult challenges for them. The Cymbalas prayed and praised and preached their way through a personal two-year nightmare. Their teenage daughter Chrissy had turned her back on the God they loved and served so faithfully. And before her daughter's dramatic return to the Lord, Carol wrote "He's Been Faithful". Carol refers to it as "a song of hope born in the midst of my pain". While hurting deeply, Carol said that her song "became like a balm to my heart, strengthening me once again." The words she wrote during that time helped her to move forward. Although her daughter had not yet come back to the Lord, Carol could praise Him for His loving faithfulness in her own life. Later, when Chrissy showed up at home and fell to her knees begging forgiveness, the truth of Psalm 119:90 ("Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.") became real to Carol. God is faithful not just to our generation, but to all generations! Carol also experienced in a new way a line of her own song that has blessed so many: "What I thought was impossible, I've seen my God do!" Are you facing some impossible situations? Then remember how God has worked in your life over the years and how, as a loving Father, He will continue to be faithful to you as you trust Him. Meditate on these powerful words of Carol's testimony and remember that this should also be your testimony.

In my own suffering

Through every pain every tear

There's a God who's been faithful to me

When my strength was all gone

When my heart had no song

Still in love He's proved faithful to me

Every word He's promised is true

What I thought was impossible

I've seen my God do

He's been faithful

Faithful to me

Looking back He's love and mercy I see