MY REDEEMER IS FAITHFUL AND TRUE (TH)

TIMELESS HYMNS - A special feature where every few weeks I choose a hymn that I have written about before, revise and update it, and share it once again because I think it has a powerful message that we need.  This one was shared previously on June 12,2011. 

          Faithfulness seems to be an unknown quality in today's society. Marriages fall apart because of unfaithfulness to wedding vows. Employee and employer long time relationships are quickly broken when times get tough. People hop from one church to another and attend only when it is convenient. Churches and even community organizations have challenges functioning because volunteers won't put in time or they just quit. Even highly paid athletes jump from team to team for larger salaries. 

          But God's faithfulness endures. He will never change his mind or fail His children. His promises are secure. He is always there, in the good times and the bad times. Hopefully you recognize this and can testify of God's faithfulness in your life. 

          It was His faithfulness in a very tragic time that stirred Steven Curtis Chapman to pen the words of this week's choice. Psalm 103:17 (KJV) "But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;" came to his mind as he stood at the hospital, not as a Christian music singer comforting a little child, but as a father praying for a miracle. He held onto his wife that night and prayed for their 5-year-old Maria, their youngest adopted daughter, who had been accidentally struck in the family's driveway by one of her brothers while returning home in his truck.

           Chapman had tried CPR at his house. The paramedics also had tried to revive her, but she had been pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. What a tragedy!  But God was still there to comfort the family as they grieved. He is faithful and will never abandon his children no matter how difficult the situation may be.  Later Chapman teamed with James Isaac Elliott to pen these beautiful words and music.

As I look back on the road I've traveled,

I see so many times He carried me through;

And if there's one thing that I've learned in my life,

My Redeemer is faithful and true.

My Redeemer is faithful and true.

[Chorus:]

My Redeemer is faithful and true.

Everything He has said He will do,

And every morning His mercies are new.

My Redeemer is faithful and true.

My heart rejoices when I read the promise

'There is a place I am preparing for you.'

I know someday I'll see my Lord face to face,

'Cause my Redeemer is faithful and true.

My Redeemer is faithful and true.

[Chorus:]

My Redeemer is faithful and true.

Everything He has said He will do,

And every morning His mercies are new.

My Redeemer is faithful and true.

And in every situation He has proved His love to me;

When I lack the understanding, He gives more grace to me.

[Chorus:]

My Redeemer is faithful and true.

Everything He has said He will do,

And every morning His mercies are new.

My Redeemer is faithful and true.

Listen to it here. LISTEN