This past weekend, I was driving my 12-year-old daughter to visit a grieving friend. My daughter looked at me with sadness in her eyes and said, “The older I get, the more people I know who have died.” I wish I could protect her from this experience that adults know all too well. The longer we live in this fallen world, the more we feel the sting of suffering and heartbreak. 

On those painful days, we can find comfort in the promises of God. We find some of those promises paraphrased by the hymn writer in this fourth verse of “How Firm a Foundation”: 

“E’en down to old age all my people shall prove

my sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;

and when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,

like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne.”

Like all of us, my daughter is learning that our human relationships change over time, and we can’t always count on the same people to be there for us for decades. But God’s sheltering, compassionate love will never run out or change. As long as we live, God will carry us like lambs in His arms because of His sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love. 

“For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)

“He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” (Isaiah 40:11) 

When the Old Testament talks about God’s love, it uses a Hebrew word translated in our Bibles as “steadfast love.” As we read over and over and over again about God’s steadfast love, we learn that God’s love isn’t capricious. It doesn’t depend on our behavior or circumstances. 

God’s steadfast love is sovereign. He chose to love us and sent His Son to prove it. (1 John 4:9-10)

God’s steadfast love is eternal. God’s love never ends, and nothing—not even death—can separate us from it. (Romans 8:38-39)

God’s steadfast love is unchangeable. We can count on His love and faithfulness to remain the same throughout all our days. (Jeremiah 31:3) 

No matter what you face this week, you will never outgrow or outlast God’s steadfast love. 

** You can read the first three posts in this “How Firm a Foundation” hymn series here, here, and here. **

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I hate it when my friends are hurting. I can sit with them, pray for them, and bring them chicken enchiladas. But I often feel powerless. I can be with them, but I can’t do anything about their pain.  

As we’re walking through the hymn “How Firm a Foundation,” we find biblical promises from God described in verses 3 and 4. These promises demonstrate God’s presence with us in our suffering. But His presence isn’t passive— it is an active presence that truly makes a difference. Here are verses 3 and 4:

“When through the deep waters I call you to go, the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow; for I will be with you, your troubles to bless, and sanctify to you your deepest distress.

When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie, my grace, all sufficient, shall be your supply; the flame shall not hurt you; I only design your dross to consume and your gold to refine.”

Only our God has the power to take our deepest hurts and turn them into blessings. Only our God can take the evil in this world and use it for His good purposes. Only our God can work in our darkest hours to transform us so that we shine more brightly for Him. Consider what these verses say about how God works in our suffering . . .  

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” (Romans 5:3-4) 

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) 

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ” (James 1:2-3)

If you’re walking through a flood or a fire today, know this promise is true: God made you, redeemed you, and called you by name. You are His. Fear not, because He is with you. (Isaiah 43:1-2) 

No matter what you face this week, God is with you in your suffering. 

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Back in the day (let’s not talk about how far back it was!), I loved watching the game show, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” As contestants answered questions, they could use lifelines such as phoning a friend or polling the audience. Depending on the question and the friends they had waiting for a call, the contestant would make a decision about who could help the most. 

Over the next several weeks, we’re walking through the hymn “How Firm a Foundation” together. The verses that follow the first verse are all written as God talking to us, and they paraphrase promises from the Bible. The second verse closely mirrors Isaiah 41:10. Here are the lyrics: 

“Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed;

for I am your God, and will still give you aid;

I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,

upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.” 

Isaiah 41:10 gives us a wonderful promise: that God is with us, and He will strengthen, help, and uphold us. But this promise brings zero comfort if we can’t rely on God to stay with us through our darkest hours. And this promise means nothing if God isn’t able to give us the help we truly need. 

When we look at this verse in context, the promise becomes even more powerful. God’s people are being threatened by larger military powers around them in the ancient world. They have every reason to be afraid. But God tells them that He is the One who rules over world powers and events. (Isaiah 41:4) 

Other nations trust in their preparation and might. (Isaiah 41:5-7) But Israel has the privilege of being chosen and called by God. He has brought them to Himself and called them His friend. He has promised to always be with them. (Isaiah 41:8-9) God is their Redeemer and the only Holy One. (Isaiah 41:14) 

Because of who God is and what He has done for His people, the Israelites could be confident in His help and have no fear. And as those who have the gift of knowing the cross of Jesus and His empty tomb, we can have even greater confidence in the God who promises to be with us, help us, strengthen us, and sustain us. 

No matter what you face this week, God promises to give you His sustaining strength. 

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