The God Who Is Faithful
- Dr. Teresa Allissa Citro
- Feb 25, 2019
- 6 min read
“The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” -Isaiah 58:11
This passage is a beautiful promise of God’s faithfulness and love. Let’s break this down. God always brings hope into our hopeless situations. I love that! God is the one who does the guiding. Let me explain some important principles. God leads but we must be listening.
"And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left." -Isaiah 30:21ESV
God says, “Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, "This is the way you should go," whether to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:11 Are you listening? God speaks! The problem is we are not hearing Him.
God is clear in His Word. In Psalms 32:8, it states, “The LORD says, 'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.'” What a promise. He guides, He advices, He watches. All of this to bring us to the best pathway for our lives. This why it’s very important to listen very well. Most importantly, to follow where He is leading.
My prayer everyday is this. “God, I want to be smack in the center of Your will. Whatever that is, that’s what I want. Pick for me. I can’t see what You see, and I can’t possibly understand everything like You do. So, I choose to do things your way. Whether they make sense to me or not. Close, block, and lock every path that’s not for me. However, You do it, whatever the cost, I’ll follow it.” I receive so many messages from people. Some want my life. Let me be so clear. My life has not been an easy one. It has caused me pain, and broken roads. Roads that were totally destroyed. But, as that song goes, “I thank God for every broken road.” Why? Because God has been so faithful in a sun-scorched land. The favor of God never stopped my blessings. I live a blessed life, but it didn’t come without a huge price tag. God blesses the lives of people who do things His way.
The three passages I used are very clear. There’s nothing to explain. Do things His way. Even when it’s so hard and you feel like giving up. Don’t! He straightens our frame. This means He himself is mapping out our future. He is shaping and molding us to fit His perfect and blessed life for us. He is composing a beautiful song of our lives. Think about that for a moment. How many artist sing about some one they love or an experience? That’s what God is doing. “He sings over us.” God is creating that perfect life from places of hurt, disappointments, and brokenness. Thank You, God! What a great outlook at life. God is not a party spoiler.
Remember this today. God is gathering every experience you had and putting together and arranging it to form and create a beautiful masterpiece of your life and mine. Let God establish all that concerns you. He can conceive and think far more than you and I can ever imagine and create. He is the Great Engineer of all circumstances and the Greatest Orchestrator. Let Him bring forth His dreams in you. You are original, and no other can be me or you.
God’s plans for our lives are mind blowing. Let Him frame, mold, and shape you into all He has imagined. Allow Him to map out and to bring you forth into the greatest tool in the master’s hands in order to bring Him glory and to bring others hope.
This kind of life means total surrender no matter what any other human being has to say. You and I have a choice to make. Will we do things His way, or will we do things our way? If you choose the counsel of man don’t expect the blessings of God. Man's agenda and God’s agenda are very different.
I’ll end with this story. I had a favorite ring. It was a Tahitian black pearl. God told me to give my ring away. We all have favorite things. I gave my ring away. Since then, I tried to replace the ring. I came close November 2017. I was staying at the Ritz Carlton, and there was a Jewelry store attached to the hotel. I saw the ring even better than what I had. I went to purchase it and the card declined it. I had forgotten to call American Express to tell them I would be leaving the State. They thought someone had stolen my card. By the time that got straightened out. The store had closed we had to leave.
Fast forward to this past Sunday. I was scheduled to go to another hotel. We left a day earlier so I had to make new reservations. My hotel choice had no rooms available. The agent made a reservation for me to stay at the Ritz Carlton. As I was driving, my son said, “Mom, that’s the same hotel we stayed where you tried to buy that ring.” I thought we were staying at another location. When we got there, sure enough it was same Ritz we stayed at. We checked in, had dinner, and went to the store.
Here’s where it gets so awesome. I found my black Tahitian ring even more beautiful then the two previous rings. The one I gave away and the one I couldn’t purchase. This time with diamonds. Except for the fact, two weeks before, I was at another Jewelry store, and I bought a yellow Tahitian, surrounded by diamonds ring. I really didn’t want to buy two rings within two weeks. My children talked me into buying the ring. The sales clerk said, “It's on sale, and the diamonds are not chips. You are getting a good deal. I bought the ring. Then, I got a call. “Hey, I want to do something special for you. You always give. I want to give you something. The amount of money was exactly the same for both rings I bought. Can you believe that? God asked me to give my ring away. It was my favorite ring. I wore it with every outfit, including my hang out clothes. God blessed my obedience and gave me a double blessing. I gave one ring. He gave me two in return. God never asks of us and in return doesn’t give back double and better.
It doesn’t end with the two rings. The sales clerk heard what my children said. We started talking. She found herself in a very hopeless situation, a devastating one. I got to speak life into her situation by her hearing God replaced what I lost double. She took down my number, and sent me a message yesterday. “Hey, I read Everyday Life. My daughter is a journalist at Colombia University. She might be interested in joining Everyday Life and volunteering for you. She’s going to call you. And the bracelet you designed is absolutely, gorgeous.”
You see, God leads, guides, and speaks. He engineers. He orchestrates. He restores. He frames and He dreams bigger than you and I could ever imagine.
You and I are vessels of honor, praise, and healing in this world of ours. Let God lead you. Listen carefully to His leading. Most importantly, do it His way. God never fails the righteous, even, “In a sun scorched land, you will be like a well watered garden. like a spring whose waters never fail.” Did you catch that? God will provide everything in the midst of a drought you shall have plenty, and will lack nothing.
It’s not the two rings God gave me. It’s about Him changing and rearranging my plans, including no room at the Westin in Washington DC to stay at and the Ritz in Virginia. I needed to meet that woman and her daughter. God needed to use me to speak hope into her life. In the process there was a blessing. This means doing things God’s way. This is the reason for my blessings. They can be yours too. Obey God, and only Him. God will always require things different than what humans require. You and I answer to God not man.
Make a choice to listen, and obey Him. Then you shall be like a strong tree planted in water and your leaves shall never be dry!
Dr. Teresa Allissa Citro
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for being faithful. Thank You for being the God who restores. Father, I put my life in Your hands, and I ask that You mix up my plans so that the purposes You planned for my life will happen as You want them to. Nothing anyone says matters. Only what You say matters. Help me to always remember that obedience is better than sacrifice and that my loyalty is to You first and always. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Linda A. Knowles
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