Faithfulness

I think maybe one of my favorite characteristics of God is that he is faithful.  No matter the situation or circumstance, God is faithful.  He will not leave us or desert us.  We can count on Him always.

God also values faithfulness in His children.  He has placed faithfulness in us at the new birth.  When we are born again, He puts a seed of faithfulness inside us.  We know this because faithfulness is listed as a fruit of the Spirit, meaning we have it in us as believers, but we need to cultivate it and grow it so it can produce in our lives.

Galations 5:22-23 (NIV) lists the fruit of the Spirit for us.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The word faithfulness in the Greek is pistis, which can be translated faith or faithfulness.  The two are related.  When we are full of faith (or faithful), certain characteristics are present.  Being full of faith makes us reliable and trustworthy.  A faithful person is dedicated, dependable, reliable, steadfast, and loyal.  Faith produces that in us.  When you have complete faith in something or someone you will be unwavering in your commitment to them, which is faithfulness.

So, if we desire to increase the level of faithfulness we display, we simply need to grow our faith.  And how do we grow our faith?  You know the answer because we have written on it often- faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word (Romans 10:17).  To grow our faith, we must be hearing the Word of God.  Read it. Speak it.  Listen to anointed preaching and teaching of the Word.  Your faith will grow, and so will your faithfulness.

God is faithful because He is totally full of faith.  Like a rock, He is steadfast and immovable.  He made us in His image, therefore we too can be faithful to Him, to others, and to ourselves.