One of my favorite verses in all of scripture is 2 Timothy 2:13, which says, “if we are faithless, He remains faithful – for He cannot deny Himself.” (ESV). To me this verse speaks to one of God’s most reassuring character qualities and that is His unfailing faithfulness.
The older I get, and more aware of my need for His grace I become, the more precious this truth becomes to me. God is not faithful to me because I deserve it or have somehow earned it but because He has decided to be a faithful God. Once having made this decision He cannot deny Himself. This truth should be a great comfort to us in this time of uncertainty. God is faithful!
The question then arises, “How will we respond to His perfect faithfulness?” If this unending and perfect faithfulness takes root in our hearts it ought to cause us to remain faithful to Him! It may not be a comfortable reality, but continued giving of our time, talents and resources even during these difficult times is the surest sign of our confidence in His faithfulness.
Our local Missouri Baptist churches are hurting right now and they need us to remain faithful, anchored in His faithfulness. They need us to minister in whatever way this new environment allows. They need us to continue to faithfully give so that the church might have the resources it needs to be a light in this dark time. Missouri Baptist ministries need your faithfulness as well.
Missouri Baptist Children’s Home just celebrated our 134th birthday in April. In that time, God has sustained our ministry through WWI, the Great Depression, WWII, multiple regional wars, societal upheaval, 9/11, the Great Recession and so much more.
God has done this because He has designed Kingdom work to be accomplished through the ministries of MBCH for His glory and our good. He has been faithful and has used faithful Christ followers all across our state to make this Kingdom work possible. Through our 134 year history, MBCH has provided hope, healing and restoration to children, youth and families who were hurting. Thousands of children have found “forever families” because of our ministry. Hundreds of babies have been saved from the horrors of abortion. Teenagers have learned to become productive adults in our society.
Dozens of girls and young ladies have been rescued from the slavery of human trafficking. Adults with developmental disabilities have been able to live, work, worship and enjoy life. God has enabled us to make a lasting difference in the lives of these individuals through the good times and the difficult times. Missouri Baptists and Missouri Baptist Churches have been faithful to provide both prayer support and financial support of these ministries. MBCH has been a faithful steward of the resources and the clients God has sent our way. And above all, God has been faithful to bless our ministries as we carry out His Kingdom work.
One of the latest examples of the faithfulness of God’s people has been seen through the last few months. During this coronavirus pandemic, most non-profit organizations like MBCH have seen a radical reduction in financial support from their donors. They are struggling to maintain their programs and services. With churches not being able to worship in person, with our Regional Representatives unable to make face-to-face visits with donors and with the economic downturn caused by temporarily closed businesses, we had every right to experience that same reduction.
But God’s people have been so faithful and generous. We have not seen a decline in donor support. In fact, there have been many donors who felt led by God to increase their giving compared to the same time last year because they know that economic difficulties will cause others to be unable to give. We have been able to maintain all of our ministries because of your faithfulness. We still have many difficult months ahead of us, but we know God is faithful and we are trusting God’s people to remain faithful. In return, we will be faithful to use the blessings you give us to change lives for eternity.
Please join with MBCH to invest in God’s Kingdom work for the future. God will use this difficult time to turn many hearts in our country back to Himself – we want to be a part of that revival!
As always, thank you so much for your faithful generosity, year-in and year-out, that makes an eternal difference in the lives of “the least of these.”