Forever Faithful

(Day 5 – What song inspires you?)

“You know my future like You knew my past, Your word concerning me was made to last forever…”

The song starts to play and I cannot help but melt. This is it. This is the song that would never fail to bring me to the place of absolute dependence, absolute trust, of pure worship and adoration to Abba Father in Heaven. This is the song that would never fail to break me, but at the same time, inspire me.

I first heard the song mid 2006. I chanced upon someone’s old collection of CDs and immediately fell in love with the song. Apparently, the “Faithful” by Hillsong Australia has been around since 2002 (being the 5^th track of their “Amazing Love” album), but I’ve never heard the worship team play it before. And so I tried looking for the lyrics in the net. Google failed me though and I came up with zero relevant search results (six years ago, yes).

But where there’s a will, there’s always, always a way. I transcribed the song lyrics on my own, made up some chords to go with it, and found myself whispering the lyrics whenever I got on my knees:

You know my future like You knew my past,
Your word concerning me was made to last forever
And I know Your word is Your integrity
And that You’d do just what You said You would
You are faithful

Heaven and earth will pass away
But Your word will remain
Your word will remain faithful

Now all I have be stripped away
But to you I remain
To You I remain faithful

I know that Your love is forever strong
And I will sing about it all day long
Forever

I know that there is no one else like You
And no one else can do the things You would
You are faithful

There were seasons of brokenness when I found myself trying to hold on to words and promises so impossible, so unattainable at the time. Will the dreams ever become reality? Will His words ever really, truly hold true? Or was I just disillusioned – believing, hoping, for something that was never meant to be?

And, to add to that, there were also months when I simply felt like I was stripped away of all the things that I had, all the things I knew, all the things I could find security in. I had absolutely nothing to hold on to. Nothing to hold on to, that is, except for God and His word.

I sang the song. I held on to Him. I believed in His word. I banked up on His faithfulness.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35, NIV)

Yes, His words will never pass away. He is faithful, faithful, faithful. Faithful to the very end.

I’m singing this song again. There are a lot of things in the future that seem so, so uncertain. But like it says in the song, He knows our future (Jeremiah 29:11), just like He knows all the things that happened in our past as well as those happening to us at present (Psalm 139:1-6).

I have nothing to be afraid of. You have nothing to be afraid of. If we love God and are in Christ, we are certain that all of the cosmos will work together for our future and our good (Romans 8:28).

And we have this simple assurance.

He will remain forever faithful.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercy never comes to an end. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV)

Credits: Faithful (2002) by Hillsong Australia