Exalting God’s Faithfulness

God’s dew is a nonending, life-sustaining gift that keeps on giving in that without it, no living thing can continue. His faithfulness to mankind, in just His provisions alone, are too numerous to list here. Some of them are in the forms of food, jobs, education, promotions and raises, spouses, friends, children, clothing, shelter, transportation, opportunities, successes, spiritual food (His Word), and other necessities of life. And yet, it is very easy to take God's blessings for granted. In fact, many Christians are doing this on a daily basis. Like babies, some of us don't seem to appreciate what God is doing in our lives. A baby would enjoy a delicious morsel that you are feeding it, without any regard to the fact that someone is feeding it and that someone has provided and prepared that food and is taking their time to feed it. When it is full, the baby plays or sleeps. When it gets hungry, the baby cries and the cycle is repeated again and again. While mankind does violate promises, God will never violate His faithfulness. God’s faithfulness is eternal. He is not faithful part of the way and then chooses to let go of his faithfulness. His faithfulness endures forever (Psalm 117:2). Jeremiah said in Lamentations 3:22-23 that God’s steadfast love never ceases, His mercies never come to an end, and they are new every morning. While life may not treat us well sometimes, that does not change God’s faithfulness. We may be sick, in the hospital, have pains, or have other forms of difficulties, but that does not change God’s faithfulness to us. Whether we are alive or dead, our circumstances can never change His love. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him (Psalm 103:11). Some of us tend to show some appreciation of the really significant events in our lives, like promotions, weddings, having a child, or receiving a great healing. Sometimes, we observe some form of thanksgiving to celebrate these. Yet, even in the celebrations, many celebrants fail to recognize the essence of the events. We often also forget the various ways of expressing our praise, feelings, and appreciations to our God who has been so faithful to us in so many ways. It is good to give appreciation when we have received something from someone so that the person will feel that he or she is acknowledged. Even among humans, lack of appreciation after a favor often causes problems between both the giver and the receiver. Naturally, one may ask a question about how God feels when He is not appreciated. The answer is simply that God has feelings just like every human. He feels good when we do righteousness, and vice versa. He grieves when we do bad things. Exaltation is good deed, especially when we give it to God who alone deserves it more than any human being. Kings and leaders are honored, but none is exalted as much as the living God. At one time, King Herod Agrippa positioned himself to be exalted like God, but was eaten alive by maggots (Acts 12:23). Exalting God's Faithfulness is written to remind Christians the meaning, importance, and implications of God's faithfulness. It seeks to sensitize and transform the Christian from living a rather dull, flat and unappreciative life into thriving in a life of joyful appreciation, exuberance, and jubilation for God's role in our lives. David said in Psalm 108:5, Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. He recognized all through his life the importance of praising God in everything. He knew that mankind is created only for that purpose and nothing else really matters. God wants to be exalted by His creation, and nothing else gives Him more pleasure than to see us exalting Him. So, David wanted to see God exalted above the heavens – in the highest of everything. Exalting God’s faithfulness is really living a life in a way that gives thanks to God for His goodness to us. The word “exaltation” also means praise but on a higher or elevated level of rank. Although the word “praise” is used together or interchangeably in this book, the real intent is to praise God to such an elevated level that He will have no comparison anywhere. Even the highest heavens are asked to praise God (Psalm 148:4). Exaltation also means the act of elevating someone in rank, power, or character. In this book, it is used to mean a higher order of praise, the type reserved only for the Lord who alone deserves to be exalted. The term “dew” is figuratively used here to illustrate the various ways God provides for His creation. In the real sense of the word, it means water droplets that appear on exposed objects in the morning or evening due to condensation. Dew is said to reach even sections of the earth’s surface where there are no rains, and accounts for the survival of plants and animals. Water is vital for the survival of plants and animals. When Isaac blessed his son Jacob, he said in part, May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine (Genesis 27:28). This blessing was so important that Jacob had to literally steal it from his brother Esau with their mother’s help. There is really nothing that is worth doing besides exalting the Lord. From every angle of life, every evidence points to the fact that the Lord is good. The Angels, who are said to be above humans, acknowledge it. The four living creatures mentioned in the book of Revelation are said to be praising God day and night, and never stopped saying: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come (Revelation 4:8). All living things, including the animals and trees, acknowledge it. Even nonliving things are said to acknowledge it! The creation itself, including every handiwork of God, acknowledges it. In Psalm 114:6, the mountains are said to leap like rams, and the hills like lambs. The seas, oceans, mountains, the sun, moon and stars all say that the Lord is good. It is also well known that the Lord inhabits the praises of His people. This means that He is ever present whenever we are praising Him in any form. Furthermore, whenever He is present with anyone, situations change, and circumstances are altered for the good of those who do the praise. One of the greatest such examples was given in 2 Chronicles 20 where King Jehoshaphat was faced with a life-threatening battle situation. There was no easy solution as long as man was concerned. However, it was said that when they started to sing and praise the Lord, the situation was miraculously altered for good. God came down and defeated the enemy (verse 22). One of the most effective ways of learning how to exalt the Lord is by examining the lives of those who loved to praise and exalt Him. Perhaps, the most profound of these individuals was King David, who was also known as the Chief Musician and the Psalmist who wrote much of the book of Psalms. David wrote many songs and was instrumental in instituting the order of worship in Israel during his time. One can hardly read any of his psalms without coming across a kind of praise to the Lord. In Psalm 34, he said that he would praise the Lord at all times and that God’s praise would continually be in his mouth. He even called on the afflicted to hear and join in praising the Lord. From David’s perspective, God should be exalted always, including when things are not going well for us. The lesson for us here is that even in death, we are supposed to praise the Lord. It does not really matter what the circumstance is; we should always praise the Lord.