Because God is Faithful

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

Never underestimate the faithfulness of God.

"Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." Revelation 4:11

At night, when the sky is full of darkness but dotted with stars, our eyes open wider, inhaling the small bits of light as if they were particles of air. We breathe in the tiny, sparkling shimmers from the black night—Light traveling from the far reaches of space imprints on our brains and we see.

A star, in essence, is light; and that essence is not lost in the dark, no matter how consuming the dark seems to be. What a star purposes to do, if such a thing can be said, is to be seen. And that purpose is not lost in the dark, in fact, it is only made possible by the dark. Though I wonder at my own statement, for I can only guess at what a star purposes to do. But in my small mind the purpose of a star is to be seen and thereby to glorify the One who created it.

All a star must do to bring glory to the Father is to be what it is.

The effect of its light traversing the distance of space and landing in our eyes so that we might look upon it and glorify the Father is not the star’s responsibility. The star shines. Period. It controls nothing beyond its production of light, and that is merely a function of it being a star. What happens in the after is in the hands of the Father, the creator of space and laws of nature, and the creator of our eyes and brains; He is responsible for the star’s light making its way to our eyes.

So what of it? How does this matter to us? We are not stars. We do not shine in the night sky at the corners of the galaxy.

Ah, but you have already perceived my point, dear reader, have you not? We are to be what God created us to be. Nothing more. Nothing less. It is not up to us, not our responsibility, to ensure that being who we are, who we were made to be, is seen by others in such a way that they glorify the Father. We hope that will be the case, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven,” (Mt 5:16) but we are not in charge of another’s response any more than a star is responsible for our response to seeing it. We may choose to praise God as we enjoy its loveliness, but we may not. That is not the star’s fault or responsibility.

Most of you reading this post are writers. You pen words and do your best to bring glory to the Father as an individual and as a writer. And as you live and as you write, working out your salvation in fear and trembling, becoming sanctified and longing to find favor in His eyes to one day hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant” – these are ways you live in who you were made to be. That is what He asks of us, to honor His creation – us, and live according to how He made us.

Be who you were created to be. That’s all. Nothing more. Nothing less. The simple act of being you brings glory to our Father. You are like a star shining in the darkness. Because the Father is faithful, your light travels through your life, through your words, and penetrates the night, bringing hope to those in despair, life to those in the shadow of death.

Because of His will, the stars exist. Because of His will, you and I exist. Our Father is worthy to receive all honor and glory. So let us be faithful. “O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.” (Ps. 34:3)

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Because God is faithful, light travels through your words & penetrates the dark - @SarahVanDiest (Click to Tweet)

Educated as a teacher, Sarah taught school for nearly 20 years. As a young woman, she lived in China amid the rice paddies and water buffalo near Changsha, and then later taught English in Costa Rica for four years and raised her two sons. 

Sarah is married for the second time, the mother of 2 boys and the step-mother to 3 more. She and her husband, David, work together in their agency The Van Diest Literary Agency. Her full name is Sarah Ruth Gerke Van Diest. She’s 5’5” and cuts her hair when stress overtakes her. 

She is a freelance editor (including a New York Times and USA Today bestseller), blogger (The Write Conversation) and writer for hire. Her first book releases with NavPress in 2018. 

http://christianliteraryagency.com/

https://www.facebook.com/sarah.gerkevandiest

https://twitter.com/SarahVanDiest