Sunday, January 22, 2012

There 4 You

In a previous post I dealt with our own faithfulness to God. Faithfulness is a virtue desperately needed in our world today. Even in the church, there is a deficiency of this particular virtue. Faithfulness is a key ingredient to success in just about any realm.
The dictionary defines the word "faithful" as: ( a.) Strict or thorough in the performance of a duty. (b.) True to one's word. (c.) Steady in allegiance or affection. (d.) Loyal, constant, reliable, trusted, or believed. Faithful. Sounds to me like faithfulness is a very good thing to exude. What do you say?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to deduce that the genuine source of faithfulness is God Himself. He is the epitome of faithfulness. The first definition of faithfulness listed says "strict or thorough in the performance of a duty. I'd say that nails God! He's God, right? I'm convinced that God is very strict and loyal as God. He's not God today and simply a legend tomorrow. He's always God and He's quite good at it! That's because He's faithful. The second definition was "true to one's word". Bingo! God again. What God says He will do...He will do. What God has said He would do...He's done! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever according to what He said. He's held true to that. The third definition says "steady in allegiance or affection". If there's one human word (among a gazillion others) that describes God it is steady. Isaiah says God loves with an everlasting love. That's pretty steady and affectionate. The Bible says God is "love". How can you get more affectionate than that? Other definitions listed are "loyal, constant, reliable, trusted, or believed. All all of these accurately describe God's infinite faithfulness.

If God were not trustworthy, He could not be trusted. Yes, quite a simple statement but with profound implications. In other words, if trust did not have as its aim One who is trustworthy, it would not be possible. In the same way faith can only be substantiated by the One who is faithful. If God were not faithful, it would be futile to walk by faith. I am always saying (because I am passionate about it) that if you want to experience God's faithfulness...you must take steps of faith. Your faith gives God the opportunity to express His faithfulness. As a matter of fact, the Bible says we must walk (live) by faith...not by the way things appear. This is possible because He is truly faithful. Many Christ-followers are not experiencing God's faithfulness to the incredible level they were created to. Why? Because they're not walking by faith. Many think walking by faith requires them to muster up some invisible force from within that causes them to believe and trust in God. And when that doesn't happen they think they are just one of those who don't have faith. God has given us all we need to trust Him. His Word.

My encouragement to you today is, if you need to trust Him more (experience His faithfulness), then trust Him to do what He's already said He will do...for you. Become a student of His Word, not just for knowledge, but for faith. The book says "Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God." Live your life according to what His Word says. I promise you...you'll experience His faithfulness. He is there for you!

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