Written by Fiona Monaghan I wonder if we might get a better idea of what faithfulness is if we looked at what it is not?
Someone who is not faithful is one who can be swayed to do mean things. Who can feel ok with letting people down, not living up to promises, not staying true to a loved one but will sell them out for a price.
“…Faithfulness has two different meanings. If we mean the faithfulness of God or Jesus, it refers to steadfastness, honesty, firmness, and God's utter dependability based on His unchanging character. If we mean human faithfulness, it refers to our steady allegiance to God and our trust in Him. A "faithful" man is "full of faith"; he believes in the reality of God as revealed in Scripture…” compellingtruth.org
I think I have learned more about God’s personal faithfulness toward me since losing my hearing. I saw things line up to provide me with hearing aids from an unlikely source, was able to get in to see the best surgeon in Seattle to do the implant, to funds being available to pay for it. I could see his promises coming true right before my eyes.
Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Proverbs 3:5-6 - (The Message)
This fruit is a result from when we put into action our trust and loyalty in God. We want to live our lives to please Him. We won’t be looking to find a way out of things, or being disloyal to others or trying not to commit to something that requires effort on our part. We will discover that we are becoming people of faithfulness:
“Doing what is needed to take good care of what is entrusted to us”
I would suggest a word study on this one. We think we know what it means, but when you look it up in the dictionary or online, there is so much more to this word. You might be surprised…
Photo Credit: Faithfulness & Lucado