2026 Daily Lenten Journey Day 23 – Faithful to God
We hear the word all the time. We are taught to be faithful. We are taught that God is faithful. Is there a difference between being faithful and being loyal? God made a promise to Noah. Was that promise about loyalty or faithfulness?
In today’s readings we hear about the relationship between humanity and God. We hear that some remain close to God while others walk away from Him. Still others, like Pharisees focus on their loyalty to God, but never reach the point of being faithful to Him.
There are two examples of faithfulness today on the Church calendar. Saint Alexios the Man of God, and Saint Patrick the Enlightener of Ireland both lived loyal and faithful God. They were loyal in their actions, and faithful in their hearts. Here are today’s readings.
O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. For thou hast made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the palace of aliens is a city no more, it will never be rebuilt. Therefore strong peoples will glorify thee; cities of ruthless nations will fear thee. For thou hast been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the blast of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall, like heat in a dry place. Thou dost subdue the noise of the aliens; as heat by the shade of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled. On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined. And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” – Isaiah 25.1-9
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.” – Genesis 9.8-17
A man is commended according to his good sense, but one of perverse mind is despised. Better is a man of humble standing who works for himself than one who plays the great man but lacks bread. A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel. He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits has no sense. The strong tower of the wicked comes to ruin, but the root of the righteous stands firm. An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble. From the fruit of his words a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent man ignores an insult. He who speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit. There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips endure for ever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan good have joy. No ill befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble. Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight. – Proverbs 12.8-22
As I often mention, each time we read the Holy Scriptures we are touched differently by God. Sometimes it is because we are different. For me today, it is because I hear the readings in the context of the Saints for today.
Today’s prophecy is about our hearts always praising God. Even when life isn’t going ‘our way’ being faithful means praising God as Saint Patrick did while still in slavery. Proverbs teaches us that the “prudent man ignores an insult,” like Saint Alexios endured mockery by his own servants.
You see my brothers and sisters, being loyal to God only gets us so far. Are actions honor Him, but sometimes our hearts grow cold in the face of struggle. Only faithfulness can get us through difficult times. Great Lent strengthens both our loyalty and faithfulness.
That is why we never fast without prayer. We never help the poor without remembering how much God has accomplished for us, even though we are sinners. He is faithful to us because His character is just and loving.
God’s promise to Noah to never again destroy the earth through a cataclysmic flood only goes so far for our salvation. We must do our part to keep the flood water away. If our hearts turn cold to His Promise, our actions will drown us.
So, how can we remain faithful to God and loyal at the same time? Start by spending a bit more time in contemplative prayer this week. Not all prayers require words. Sometimes our hearts just need to sit and hear God’s still voice.
Loyalty to God gets us out of bed and standing in front of our icons. Faithfulness gets our mouths closed and hearts open to Him. Maybe our fasting can help too. If we can remember that fasting conquers our will, then we will be more open to God’s voice.
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