I find it no small coincidence that I was asked to write about God’s faithfulness just one week before the very thing I wasn’t sure was ever going to happen, well, happens.

Allow me to bring you up to speed.

The photo above is from February 28, 2016. This day marked the last day that our son would ever spend as an orphan. On that day, we went to his orphanage and brought soda, cookies and cake for all the children. Many of them danced, laughed and sang. We were celebrating that Mehte now had a family and he would be going home with us forever.

The First Story

Once upon a time, they lived happily. That is, until ever after hit them like a ton of bricks. It was the end of the world as they knew it. Their short story was over as soon as it began. The difference between Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of their story is as stark as the difference between night and day. How quickly they moved from the untainted beauty of Chapter 2— “were both naked, but they felt no shame” (Gen. 2:25)—to the tragic finality of Chapter 3—expelled for good from the presence of the one who loved them perfectly.

If only this fairytale’s beginning and morbid ending were fiction. Then, perhaps, we could breathe a deep sigh of relief, as if awakening from terrors of the night that are not real in the end. But, they are us. This is not just their story. It is ours. It is yours. It is mine. And it is REAL. Sometimes, the truth is more painful than fiction…

“Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death.” Psalm 86:11-13

My soul longs for the praise and glory of God to be continuously on my heart. I long to live like the famed people in Hebrews 11, that despite all that the world showed them, their posture was one of continuous praise and faith. I think all of us long for Psalm 86:11-13 to be the cry of our hearts. But how do we do this? How do we take this scripture and let it be our rally cry, to not only lead others into Easter weekend, but to devote every waking moment to loving God so that our hearts would grow in longing to hear our heavenly father say, with love in his eyes, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

There are a few things that I think will help us in this journey.