Is the Spirit of Faithfulness in you?
Here is how you can find out. Discover what the fruits of faithfulness are from God’s most precious Word by examining the passages below and asking yourself:
1. How do I exhibit Faithfulness in my daily life?
2. What can I do to develop a better attitude of Faith?
3. What blocks Faithfulness from working and being exhibited in me?
4. How can I make Faithfulness function better, stronger and faster even in times of uncertainly and stress?
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
Faithfulness is what will preserve our faith and the other characters of the Spirit to identify God’s will so we can be dependable and trusting towards God and others (Psalm 119: 89-90; Matthew 17:19; 25:21; Rom. 1:17; 5:1-2; 1 Cor. 12:9; Hebrews 11:1; 1 Thess. 5:24). It is the one fruit that we give to God, whereas the others are from the Spirit working in us! Faithfulness is authenticity, the power and motivation for Christian living. God is trustworthy with us we can be faith-worthy in Him!
Doubt, distrust and Misplaced Anger are the opposite, losing our trust and hope that God is in control! When we do this, we will lose or miss out on seeing God come through with His promises. When we are not exercising our faith, we will be consumed with doubt and distrust, the opposite of God’s call and plan for us.
Here are positive examples from Scripture (II Kings 5:8-14; Matt. 15:21-28; 21:18- 22; Luke 7:1-10; Acts 3:1-10; Heb.11: 1-40)
Here is are negative examples from Scripture (Matt. 6:25-34; 14:22-33; 17: 14-20; Mark 6:1-6; James 1:5-8)
Faithfulness is very difficult to have or hold onto, especially when applying it to our work and relationships. We tend to lose our patience with God, thinking He is just a blessing machine. When we do not get what we want we leave Him because of our uncertainty. Faithfulness is the fruit that we give to God so He can change us inside and out! It is the ability to take what Yeshua has done in us and be a blessing to others with loyalty and trust.
Faithfulness goes against modern psychology and cultural consensus, as it requires us to move beyond ourselves, whereas psychology tells us to be self-aware putting the “me” first. Rearranging the world to our needs creates self-destruction and broken relationships. We have to keep the goal of faithfulness in our minds always, as it will allow God to work deeper and it will allow us to respond to His call! God has bigger things at stake that He wants you for, much more than the petty complaints we give or things we ask of Him!
Questions
1. How would you define Faithfulness?
2. What are the things that cause you to doubt or distrust God?
3. How does distrust counteract Faithfulness?
4. How can you give God more Faithfulness so you can fully realize that God is in control of your life and situation, so you can fully trust Him?
5. When have you been filled with Faithfulness the most?
6. In what situation did you fail to have Faithfulness in which you should have?
7. What issue is in your life that would improve with more Faithfulness?
8. Think through the steps you need to take to put Faithfulness into action in a specific instance. Will Yeshua find the kind of faith in you when He comes (Luke 18:1-8)? Such as having faith in spite of confusion and uncertainty or standing firm believing what is true even though you may not experience it or know what is going on or what Yeshua is doing in you?
Remember, God does not want our complaints, He wants our obedience so He can use us more!