God Has Faith in Us
Yael Eckstein | June 16, 2023
It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,
proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night. —Psalm 92:1-2
As we celebrate the men in our lives this month, enjoy these devotions looking at the defining characteristics of godliness that we can glean from the biblical men of faith—and how we can pass on those values to our children.
One of the first prayers taught to every Jewish child is Modeh Ani, a short prayer Jews say immediately upon waking up in the morning: I am grateful to You, the living and eternal King, that You have returned my soul to me with compassion. Your faith is abundant.
The last two words of this short prayer, rabah emunatecha, can be understood as “Your faithfulness is abundant” or “Your faith is abundant.” The Hebrew word emunah means “faith” as well as “faithfulness,” depending on the context.
One beautiful explanation I once heard for the ending of this prayer is that we are thanking God for having faith in us. Each morning when we wake up, God has chosen to give us another day on earth. By doing so, He is showing His faith in us.
God Has Faith in Us
Perhaps we can use this to understand the beginning of Psalm 92: “It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night.”
Just like the prayer we say when we wake up in the morning, this verse ends with the word emunatecha, “Your faithfulness” or “Your faith.” Based on the explanation of the morning prayer I shared above I’d like to suggest a deeper meaning to this verse.
Morning represents the good times, when we are living our best lives and basking in the light of God’s goodness. Nighttime, throughout the Psalms, represents darker times—the times when God is concealed and people live as though He is not here. Night represents those times when the darker side of humanity seems triumphant.
And yet, even when people are not stewarding God’s world according to His will, He shows patience and mercy. Despite our failures, God has faith in His creation.
What’s true of humanity as a whole is true of each of us as individuals. We often feel that we’re letting God down. We forget about Him and slip up. But like the loving father He is, God has faith in us. And if God has faith in us, shouldn’t we also have faith in ourselves?
Your Turn:
Are you struggling with confidence? Are you facing a challenge in your life. Remember that God has faith in you.