Faithfulness

I can’t believe that we only have two more fruits of the spirit to cover after this one! It seems like yesterday when I started on the journey to deepen my own understanding of these fruits, and I hope that we’ve learned some things together!

Today’s fruit of the spirit is faithfulness. Faithfulness can, and should, be directed towards many different people. Your children, your spouse, your siblings, your boss.
But today, we’re going to talk about our faithfulness to the most important Person of all, Christ.
 
If you want to learn about faith and some of the Biblical people who had it, Hebrews 11 is a wonderful chapter to read.
 
The entire chapter is about faith, and the heading describes it splendidly; “By FAITH we understand.”
 
I’m not going to list the chapter today, but I encourage you to read it on your own. And maybe you might want to do what I’ve done and underline the phrase, “by faith,” every time it appears in that chapter! =)
 
Do you find it hard to have faith at times? Can you relate to the disciples when they say, “Lord save us! We shall perish!”
And then Jesus’ gentle rebuke, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?”
 
You see, the disciples had been following Jesus around for how long? They had seen miracles first hand and watched as Jesus cared for others. Yet, when faced with a trial, their faith diminished.
 
How can we make sure we’re staying faithful to Christ? How can we make sure that our faith stands strong in the times that matter most?
 
For starters, staying close in your relationship with Christ is a must. And as the ever-familiar scripture in James goes, “draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
 
What are some ways we can do this?
 

1. Read your Bible EVERY day

Even if only a few verses, we must make sure we’re meditating on the Words of life and not starving ourselves of our daily spiritual food. We feed ourselves regular food every day, right? If we didn’t, our bodies would slowly waste away. Feeding ourselves with spiritual food is no different. Read the Bible every day and we’ll thrive. If not, we’ll starve, waste away, and drift further and further from Christ.
 
   2. Don’t let them in!
Just like remaining faithful in a marriage, it’s the same with Christ. Don’t let worldly thoughts and temptations stray you away from your relationship with Him. If you ask yourself, “is this glorying God? Is this showing my faithfulness to Him? and you come away with the answer, “no,” then put it out. There’s no room for it in your relationship with Christ.

What are some scriptures that talk about our faith with Him?
 
Psalm 37:28 - “For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.”
 
Proverbs 3:12 - “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring your prosperity.”
 
Proverbs 16:6-7 - “Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil. When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.”
 
Proverbs 28:20a - “A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.”
 
Revelation 2:10 - (NKJV) “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested and will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
 
 
Our faithfulness in Christ is one of biggest things we can count on in this day and age. The Lord has promised to provide for us and keep us safe, but we need to trust Him and have faith that He will do what He says.
 
And here’s a humbling thought; when we’re not having faith in Christ and trusting Him to take care of us, we might as well say, “I want to believe what You’re saying is true, but I just can’t trust that You’ll keep Your promises.”
Ouch.
Because when has He ever broken a promise? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m positively sure the answer is ZERO.
 
So is our relationship and faithfulness to Christ important?
I’d say yes, absolutely. This is perhaps one of the most important fruits of the spirit that we’ve covered so far.
 
So let’s try something this week, let’s give a thorough look into our relationship and faithfulness with Christ. Let’s endeavor to strengthen it and make sure we’re growing stronger in our faith every day.
 
Let’s strive to make sure that EVERYTHING we do is bringing glory to His name!
 
With humble hearts, let’s all strive to become more like Christ and take these things to heart.
Let's all be joyful, willing, servants of our King.

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