A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford
People often ask me what my favorite verse in the Bible is, and my answer depends on what I
am troubled about at the moment! Sometimes it has been one that you probably can quote from
memory: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son that whoever believes in
Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
When I have been troubled about the future, I have relished this: “And we know that all
things work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28).
Because of some recent challenges in my life, I have been reveling in this sweet assurance
from God:
If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself. 2 Timothy 2:13
I’ve always known that I couldn’t be good enough to get to Heaven on my own. I have
rested in His assurance that since Jesus died for my sins, I would go to Heaven and be with Him
forever. I’ve tried to honor Him in my life, but I never live up to my own expectations, let alone
His!
For example: for six years Walt and I begged God to give us a child. We applied at a
Christian adoption agency, and they said they couldn’t even put us on the wait list—they had so
many applications. But they would put us on a wait list to be put on the wait list, and they would
write us when that happened. Day after day I opened the mail box with hope, and closed it with
tears.
I talked to God a lot about this. I reminded Him of all the stories in the Bible where He had
answered a woman’s prayer for a baby. All my friends were enjoying their children. I got petulant.
I had the nerve to ask God why wouldn’t He keep His promises to me? And that was sheer
ingratitude and unfaithfulness! I had the nerve to questione God’s goodness. But how wonderful to
hear His promise: He is always, always faithful to us even when we are unfaithful.
One August morning Walt and I drove into Chicago to attend a Publisher’s Convention. I
said, “Walt, the adoption agency is just down the street from the Convention Center. Could we just
drop by and ask them if they could please put us on the waiting list to file for adoption?”
We walked into the agency. Startled, Miss Cain, the case worker. asked, “Did you get a
letter from me?”
“No.” we answered sadly, “But we were just hoping—”
“Sit down.” She went into the director’s office. I remember their fifth-floor offices looked
to the east over Lake Michigan A light mist over the lake was making tiny rainbows in the sunshine.
Miss Cain came back into the room.
“We have a baby boy for you,” she said. The very next evening we held that precious child
in our arms. They had already decided, even before we came in, that we should have that special
child, and our arrival that morning confirmed to them it was God’s will for him to be ours.
I had been so faithless, so unbelieving. But God cannot deny Himself. It is His essential
being; you could almost say it’s in His DNA. He is faithful, just as He is holy, just as He is merciful,
just as He is loving. He keeps His promises. He doesn’t change His mind when He has made a
promise. His holy Word says so. But He also will give us only what He knows will bless us, not
harm us. So sometimes He answers our prayers in a better way than what we asked for.
In the next seven years He gave us six more children, all beautiful, all precious! God has
been faithful to this often unfaithful child of His. You can trust Him, too. He is faithful even when
you are not faithful. You cannot not earn His faithfulness: He simply cannot deny Himself!