If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
(2 Tim 2:13 KJV)
Galatians 2:20 is a very familiar Scripture that says, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, but Christ is living in me..,”
1 Corinthians 15:57 says, “Thanks be to God who is always giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I love that verse 2 Timothy that speaks of God’s faithfulness. The word “abide” that’s used there simply means “to remain.” The point being is that God is always faithful, and cannot be anything but faithful, and my believing, or not believing doesn’t add or take anything away from the fact that He is faithful. I think one of the problems that we have living this life of faith is that we think that faith starts with faith and therefore begins with us, but faith is simply something that happens to us when we begin with God. It is our contemplation of his faithfulness that releases faith in our lives. Hudson Taylor, the great missionary in China, was one of the great servants of God in church history. At the point of total exhaustion and burnout on the mission field, he discovered through a letter that her friend sent him the great truth of our being in union with Christ, and living the exchanged life. His personal freedom resulted in the transformation of the ministry of the mission organization that he founded, and he spent much of his life traveling the world speaking about abiding in Christ. Whenever he would speak in any country, people would flock to hear him, and one time when he was in America in his advanced years, someone asked him a question about faith, and his initial answer stunned everyone. He initially said to them, “There are times when I simply can’t believe.” People were shocked when he said that because he was one of the most famous Christians in the world, and his life of faith and teachings on faith were renowned. Having made the initial statement that sometimes it was difficult for him to believe, he then finished what he had started to say by adding, “and in those times when I find it so hard to believe, I simply rest in His faithfulness.” Of course, what he said is really how true faith works, for faith doesn’t start with me trying to believe, but faith always starts with what God believes, and His faithfulness which doesn’t allow Him to deny Himself. Jesus Christ is actively alive in each one of us, and he is faithful whether you and I believe it or not. Our faith in his faithfulness simply allows us to step into the manifestation of what is true about Him, who is always faithful.