Psalm 40:10
I have not hid thy saving help within my heart,
I have spoken of thy faithfulness and thy salvation;
I have not concealed thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness
from the great congregation.
It is a curious fact that, for the authors of the Old Testament "steadfast love" and "faithfulness" are as natural a pairing as left and right. Since God loves us, of course He will stay with us. Israel can't shake Him, no matter how hard they try. Even His punishments come precisely because He will "never leave you or forsake you." The psalmist knows this and praises God for it. Whatever pain Israel has to embrace in its painful history, it will never have to know the pain of a meaningless universe without God. Nor will it have to know a loveless God. His love is demonstrated precisely in His faithfulness, and faithfulness means, quite simply, that He stays. Today, praise God for His steadfast love and faithfulness. Then give some of it to somebody else, preferably a "difficult person."
