Continuing in Faithfulness:

Recently I finished a book called “Daring to Hope,” by Katie Davis Majors.  I have made a few blog posts about the quotes and the insight Katie brought to the table.  I highly recommend this book for her wonderful God insight and inspiration into ministry.  It is important to read books about missionaries with their stories and their work they are doing all over the world. 

Katie would often talk about God’s faithfulness.  God is faithful and He shows up in all things everyday.  Every morning, we can see God’s faithfulness.  Every morning we make up and we can feel his forgiveness, his mercy and his grace.  Think of all the times we as people can step away from God.  We can start to sin and we can follow the worldly inspiration.  Yet, even when we are not continuously faithful to God, he is faithful to us and our relationship.  

One quote I loved was all about this kind of faithfulness.  This says, “Friend, faithfulness is what we repeatedly do, whether or not we see the results. Faithfulness is when we pour into hard people over and over, when we continue to serve in difficult situations, when we intentionally choose to lean into Him in our troubles as well as our joys.  Faithfulness is a habit formed in our hearts when no one is looking, when the day is done and the stars creep out and our call isn’t easy but we don’t turn away.” (pg. 140). 

I love this quote.  It is important to remember that faithfulness is when we continue to show up, even in the moments when it is hard.  I will be honest when I say, there are a few individuals in my life who have made it more difficult in recent months.  They have had a lot of struggles and personal strife which can make it hard to love them at times.  However, being faithful to God is being faithful to those people and being a Godly example, even when it is incredibly taxing.  I have definitely not done the best job, but I also know God is continuing his faithfulness in me, so I can continue my faithfulness in Him. 

The Bible talks about Faithfulness a lot. Faithful as a word is referenced roughly 130 times throughout scripture. This is clearly a message God wants to show his followers.  He wants us to know that He will be faithful with us, and He asks us to be faithful with him.  One of those verses is Proverbs 3:3-4 which says, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” But how is it, we as Christians can stay faithful?  How can we be described as faithful?  What will it mean to hear a well done, good and faithful servant when we enter the gates of heaven?   

Some of the best ways we can be faithful is through reading our Bibles and really understanding what it says in its entirety.  We cannot be a faithful servant if we do not know the commands we have been given by God.  We need to know all the commands and the promises God has given us.  We are so impacted by the things we watch, the things we listen to, or even the people or influences we seek out.  This is why it is so important to seek influence from the Bible and God’s written word. 

Then we also need to pray.  We need to spend time in prayer.  Prayer is how we best communicate with God.  To really understand all his commands and all his promises is through prayer and communicating with Him.  This is taking time to listen to doing the thing God most wants us to do.   What is God calling us to?  What is his goal for our lives?  How can we best serve God with the lives we have?  Then we can go to Him when the work is troubling and we need the Holy Spirit to give us strength. 

However, we also have to be willing to follow his commands, even when they are maybe not what we had originally thought we would do.  This is being willing to do the things He has called us to, and we may have to be willing to give up some of the things we would most want in this world, whether this be relationships or friendships, certain job promotions, leadership positions, money, or comfort.  This will mean speaking God’s truth to people who don’t want to hear it, but knowing if we don’t tell them, they may never know. 

The challenge for this week is to be reflective over whether or not we as people are faithful.  Are you as a Christian a person who is also faithful?  Are there times or places where you are not as faithful.  This can even be with the simple places in life such as driving.  When I am driving, I can very easily get frustrated but when there are people who are a bit slower on the road than I would prefer. I also can be like this when there are moments of gossip or times to vent around the individuals who I enjoy speaking to about life issues.  This can also be during the hard times of my life, such as when I am struggling through an illness or a major injury.  When there are simple or harder times in lives, we still need to remain faithful.