Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker
Several of my classmates married right after their high school graduation in 1976. I was asked to sing The Lord’s Prayer at one of these weddings. (This will sound really strange, but I’d rather sing at five funerals than one wedding. Because a wedding ceremony is a huge production and everyone expects everything to be perfect. But funerals are a ministry to provide comfort through music and that‘s right in my wheelhouse.) An accomplished organist was to accompany me, and everything went well at the rehearsal. But on the evening of the wedding, the organ settings had been changed so that when the introduction was played, all I could hear was a low-pitched rumble. For the life of me, I couldn’t hear my starting note. I realized it wasn’t going to get any better, so I just started singing and sang about half of the song before I could determine the correct pitch. Of all the songs in the world, I totally botched The Lord’s Prayer. This incident was one of my most-embarrassing music fails ever! I can’t remember if I crawled out of the sanctuary or just dug a hole in the carpet and climbed in. I hope it wasn’t my fault, but this particular couple later divorced.
God will never fail us, but humans will. It’s our nature, not our intention. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, he took His inner circle of three (Peter, James and John) and asked them to pray and watch with Him. But they failed.
God, however, has always shown Himself to be an unfailing and faithful Father because He never makes mistakes and He never abandons His children. He is a solid Rock and dependable when life is not at its best. It’s comforting to know that God is the same through every situation; and that means He’s always good. “So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding” (Ephesians 1:6,8 NLT).
By faith, we can lay hold of the blessings God has for us. “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ” (Ephesians 1:3 NLT). Christ followers need to be reminded that our spiritual blessings are vital to a victorious life in Him. But there’s no doubt that material blessings are also important. We need both types of blessings and God will not fail to provide us with everything we need as we place our complete trust in Him. Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33 NKJV).
Faith in an unfailing God is a routine that believers are to practice hourly. It’s not something we rely on sometimes. Faith in God’s love and power for us as individuals must be consistent. When we live out our everyday life grounded on God’s Word, our lives can positively impact others for the Kingdom of God.
God will always do what is best for His children; He‘s always up to something good. “So what should we say about this? If God is with us, no one can defeat us. He did not spare His own Son but gave Him for us all. So with Jesus, God will surely give us all things” (Romans 8:31,32 NCV).
The Key: God loves us and we can trust that He will never fail us or sing off pitch.