The Fruit of the Spirit called Faithfulness

We hear the word “faithful” and the first thing that may spring to mind is marriage. We use that word to describe how someone keeps or doesn’t keep their vows.

When speaking of the Fruits of the Spirit, we learn about how faithfulness applies to our relationship with God. He promises to be faithful to us, right? I will never leave you or forsake you. He tells us He is always working on our behalf. He was, is, and always will be faithful to us.

Are we faithful to God?

One area of struggle for me in my faithfulness to Him is trust. In my heart, I know without doubt that God is faithful to me. I know that He is for me, just as His word says. I don’t doubt it. I know He loves me. I know all these things.

When I’m in a place of strife, I worry. I’m a classic worrier and I’m so very good at it. I’ve had far too much practice. This is my area of struggle. I battle back and forth with God about leaving my worries and fears at His feet.

It’s a push-pull. I try to drop it at His feet, let Him have it, and walk away with full knowledge that He will take care of it for me. But without fail, I’ll inch my way back. I sneak to the “package of worry” and trying to subtly tug it back, as if God wouldn’t notice. He grabs it, telling me it’s His and to quit worrying already. After all, He tells us over and over to trust and not to worry.

But I worry anyhow and I think I can fix it myself so I grab harder and He grabs harder and so goes the battle. Like the child that I am, I keep trying to sneak it back every time I give it up to Him. I get nervous, impatient, and want to see the solution now.

When I fret and try to play a game of keep-away with my worries, I’m not doing myself any favors. And I’m sinning, even though I’m trying to hard not to. If I can’t fully let Him handle it, I’m not trusting fully, even though I know I can.

And when I’m worrying and fretting, I’m not demonstrating God’s faithfulness to us and mine to Him, as a witness to others. I’m showing them that I think I can do better, that I’m scared even though the Bible tells us plenty of times not to fear. So not only am I cheating myself out of the ways God plans to handle a particular situation, I could be a potential stumbling block to someone else who’s trying to trust God too.

Heavy…

God is faithful in so many ways. He forgives us when we mess up. He provides for us, as promised. He provides an eternal home with the promise of beauty and peace beyond what our finite minds can even imagine.

So how do we demonstrate faithfulness? Give Him our junk…worries, fears, uncertainties, and resist the want to grab them back. Trust Him. Make Him a priority in our lives. Dictionary.com says faithfulness is “steady in allegiance.”

Big and very cool words. Let’s be steady in our allegiance to the One who loves us more than we can fathom, who takes care of us always, who fights for us. He is always working behind the scenes for us, even when we can’t see it.

How can you work towards a more faithful relationship with God? What are your areas of struggle?

Keep the faith,

Melanie Pickett is a mom, second wife, and domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor who’s living her second calling as a writer and speaker. Melanie has battled Crohn’s disease and complications for over 20 years. Having survived a 15-year abusive first marriage, Melanie shares with her readers what she learned through that experience so that she may encourage and inspire others. Melanie has been featured on Huffington Post, The Mighty, Splickety Magazine, Whole Magazine, and Sonoma Christian Home where she’s an Associate Editor. Melanie’s favorite thing to do is spend time with her teenage children, husband, and black pug Gracie. She also loves to read, enjoys the beach and Great Lake near her home, works out (when health allows), and enjoys a good movie. One of Melanie’s favorite quotes is “We were born to be real, not to be perfect.”