THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD
Psalm 89:8 NLT
O Lord God Almighty! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, Lord? Faithfulness is your very character.
In a few short months, I’ll be 67. I have seen and experienced so much in those years, but especially in the last 48 as I’ve walked with God. In 1975 when I was 19, just beginning this journey of faith in my relationship with Jesus Christ, I could not have fully grasped nor imagined all that would transpire, or the things I would experience and walk through in the next 48 years. They have been filled with both astounding, amazing blessings, and terrifying, excruciating trials filled with anguish, loss, and pain. God in His gracious favor has allowed me to do and experience many wonderful things in my service to Christ. God has also allowed many extreme difficulties and great losses in my life. But through it all, no matter what’s happened, I have experienced one constant reality over and over and over again. The Faithfulness of God. It is honestly mind-blowing! What God has done for me when it seemed my whole world was coming apart, when it seemed there was no hope whatsoever, when it seemed I’d be crushed under the weight of cruelty and injustice, time and again, God kept His promises and faithfully came through for me, saving my life.
I have experienced so many divine interventions. My life is inextricably interwoven with the faithfulness of God. Without God’s faithfulness to me, I simply would not be sitting here writing. I would have been crushed and destroyed, wiped out completely.
During my daughter’s 7-year illness, there were many times I thought I would go bankrupt from the medical expenses that kept piling up. It was absolutely overwhelming. Day after day I cried out to God, asking him to multiply my finances, just as He multiplied the poor widow’s oil and flour who fed Elijah, after she’d used all she had left. I literally prayed that story every single day as I asked God for His supernatural help. Soon, almost on a daily basis, gifts would arrive in the mail or on my front porch. Many things were given to us to help. I kept an accurate running record of every gift given, whether financial or some other type of gift. They came in total value to approx. $98,000! Without those gifts, I would have gone bankrupt. God answered my prayers! God’s faithfulness saved the day!
In just 3 months it will be 5 years since I officially started Strong Disciple as a full-time ministry. This ministry was birthed after the catastrophic loss of all I had worked for 32 years to build. I lost my life’s work, my reputation, almost all my friends, and my livelihood, and was left with next to nothing. Once again, in a miraculous raising of the dead, God lifted me up, supernaturally intervened, and this ministry was started. God has provided supporters and finances in astounding ways. God’s great faithfulness once again saved the day and saved my life.
Just the other day, a wonderful brother in Christ wrote to me asking if we could meet for coffee. He wanted to share something with me. He is a tremendous man, a faithful supporter of my vital ministry work. During our visit, he shared some extremely kind encouragement with me. Things he shared ministered deeply and profoundly to my soul. He also handed me an envelope saying this was to help my Strong Disciple ministry. As I walked out to my car, I opened the envelope to discover the single largest donation I have ever received at one time. I was once again astounded, floored by the faithfulness of God as I had recently lost several monthly supporters.
I want to say to all of you reading this, who have prayed for me and this ministry, for all of you who have so generously and faithfully given of your resources – Thank you for listening to God’s leading and prompting in your life. I know it was God who inspired you to give, who inspired you to pray. You have each played a critical part in God’s supernatural intervention in my ministry and my life!
Never ever forget the words of Jeremiah, as you walk through your own times of anguish, sorrow, and loss, Great is His faithfulness! The Lord is my inheritance; therefore I will hope in Him!
My entire life is a testimony, a living witness to the faithfulness of God! God will not betray your trust! In a world of uncertainty, filled with unreliable people and institutions, you can always Count on God’s faithfulness.
Helping you become a Strong Disciple,
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Mark Darling
