The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)
Over the past week we’ve been working our way through the Fruit of the Spirit, and we’ve looked at Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, and Goodness. This brings us to today’s meditation on the fruit of Faithfulness.
As we begin, I would like for you to think about that one person in your life in whom you have placed the utmost trust, who you know without any doubt that you can depend on. Now, I would like for you to consider what it is that makes them so trustworthy.
Chances are that you’ve known this person for a number of years. And through the process of getting to know them, you have seen them at their best and also at their worst. There are no surprises. They’re steady. They’re honest and reliable. They don’t change their minds according to the weather. And they’re not afraid of offending you by telling you the truth when you need it the most but when you want to hear it the least. They have your confidence. They know everything about you, all of your secrets… and yet they still love you without condition.
If God loves us enough to put these trusted friends in our lives, why is it so difficult for us to trust Him sometimes? Might it be that we really haven’t gotten to know who God is and what He is and isn’t capable of?
Wait… did I just catch you off guard there? You mean there are things that not even God Himself is capable of? Yes, you read that right. Indeed, there are things that God Himself cannot do, because for Him to do those things would go completely against what the Bible reveals His faithful nature to be.
So it is only through reading God’s Word that we begin to know who God is. And after we get into the habit of reading the Bible, we begin to see a distinct pattern taking shape. We learn that God cannot lie, He will not break His promises and go against His word. Abraham can attest to this, as can Moses and the Israelites, as can David and all the prophets of the Old Testament who prophesied about Jesus, the coming Messiah. God cannot change, nor does He change his mind. God cannot be surprised, and He cannot fail.
God’s track record is perfect, because He is perfect. If just one of those natures about Him weren’t true, then He wouldn’t be God. He is unchanging! Hebrews 13:8 reminds us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
God’s life does not change. God’s character does not change. God’s truth does not change. God’s ways do not change. God’s purposes do not change. And God’s Son, Jesus Christ, does not change.
But as we get to know who God is and learn about His faithfulness, we begin to change. And that’s what this fruit of the Spirit – the fruit of Faithfulness – is all about. We learn what it means to be faithful; faithful in our relationships with our spouse, with our children, with our family members, our friends, our coworkers, our communities. We learn how to remain faithful during the good times and the tough times. There will be storms that test our faith, sure. But when we remember how faithful God has been, His Spirit gives us the strength and endurance to keep persevering in our own faith.
Even when we go through the greatest trials in our lives, God sees us through it to the very end. And if the end means The End, He will even see us immediately thereafter to welcome us home. This is His promise to us – that there is a better life yet to come – if we are faithful and believe.
Because great is His faithfulness to us.
Former Blackout Artist 