The Fruit of the Spirit – Faithfulness

Deuteronomy 7:9 says “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.” To be faithful is to be trustworthy and reliable and God is all of those things and so much more. Throughout scripture His faithfulness is starkly evident towards His people.

What does God’s faithfulness mean to us?

In 1 John 1:9 we are told, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” With absoluteness we can have the confidence that God will forgive us. The greatest gift we are given when we repent and turn to Him comes to us with an assurance because of His faithfulness to His promise.

To us, it means that we can count on Him. Faithful is just who He is. God’s faithfulness gives us reassurance that even in the midst of the bleakest situation, we can have hope because He can be relied upon.

His faithfulness like His love is unconditional, as it says in 2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since he cannot deny himself.”

God’s faithfulness is a source of great comfort, hope and encouragement, as we see it being highlighted through the Psalms. And so, we can tend to relate His faithfulness to only good things like His saving grace or keeping His promises. But we read in Deuteronomy 28 of the promise of consequences to disobedience and the blessings with obedience made to the Israelites.

God is faithful, yes, He will fulfill the promises of those blessings but He also with equal faithfulness follows through with the consequences for disobedience. He is true to His word and to His perfect nature. May this give us pause to take in the word of God in its entirety, the blessings as well as the effects of us being selective in what we choose to believe, what we choose to live out and if our actions reflect our claims of faith.

And it is with equal faithfulness, He will restore as He did with the people of Judah. And so, it is because of that immutable faithfulness of God that we can have hope.  And so, we can say with confidence. Great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23)

Faithfulness to God

Hebrews 11:3 says “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

It is by Faith we know that we are here on earth not by chance but are created with intention.

We are created to live for Him, as Paul said in Romans 14:8a “For if we live, we live to the Lord.” And living for the Lord – for our lives to be characterized by living for the Lord requires a faithfulness from us to Him that is not occasional but steady within us.

As Christ followers we are called to be faithful to Him who is always faithful to us.

In Luke 18:8 Jesus asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” 

Faithfulness towards God – it is to be full of faith in Him, to trust God implicitly, have confidence in Him with a surety even when we are yet to see His hand at work.

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is a confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

God is faithful and His faithfulness is seen through his actions. When God promises, He fulfills. In the same way if we claim to believe in God, how is our faithfulness evidenced in our actions?

Faithfulness is more than a virtue

Is our faithfulness to Him empty words or are they evidenced in the way we live our lives?

Let’s begin small, are we faithful in the little daily things – faithful in prayer, time with God, reading His word?

Further on, are we faithful to Him when we have to wait on Him, when we are called to be obedient in a trying situation. Does our faithfulness waver in tough situations? 

I say with honesty that I fall short in my faithfulness to God.

But as 2 Thessalonians 3:3 says “But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” Even when we struggle to be faithful, the Lord continues to uphold and protect us.

Faithfulness like any other fruit of the spirit, originates from God and is something we grow in as we walk with the Lord.

Hebrews 11 entails some of the great heroes of faith, we read of Abraham’s faithfulness. In Genesis 16, we know of Abrahams moment of doubt to God’s promise of a child and he takes matters into his own hands in how that would eventuate. Later on, in Genesis 22, we see his faithfulness to God when he was instructed by God to take Isaac and sacrifice Him. God was testing Abraham. Although he did not have to sacrifice Isaac as God in the last minute provided a ram, Abraham responded with absolute obedience, reflecting growth in His faithfulness in God.  

David was faithful to God, he was faithful when he was a shepherd, while he was on the run from Saul and when he was king. His journey of faithfulness to God began with him cultivating a faithfulness to God in his daily life and routine before he was called to bigger things.

As we perform the simple tasks of our daily lives, it is easy to feel as if they have no importance, but the Lord sees the small acts of faithfulness we do each day.

The great stalwarts of faith like Abraham and David were not perfect. They were called to be faithful to God. So, in the same way, we strive not for perfection or be discouraged when we falter, but we start with being faithful in the small everyday things and grow in our faithfulness to our Heavenly Father. 

“The one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’” — Matthew 25:22-23 

Growing in faithfulness?

Our relationship with God is what effectuates growth in our faith. It begins with surrender, of our own desires so we stay true to what He desires for us. Submit your ways to Him and be diligent in your pursuit of Him every day.

Abraham and David were consistent in their connection with God. That created the framework for growth in the everyday that sustained them through the times they faltered. Our relationship with God in the everyday is what feeds our faith for growth.

In Mark 9:23-24 we read “And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

If we wish to grow in faith, ask God to help. The simple act of turning to God, in faith, to ask for faith, is a demonstration of the stirring of the Holy Spirit’s work in your soul.

God Bless.