Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 28: FAITHFULNESS”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
“The fruit of the Spirit is … faithfulness…” (Galatians 5:22).
Faithfulness is a gift of God.
But what about unfaithfulness?
In reflecting on many of the fruits of the Spirit, the obvious conclusion is that all of these (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.) are fruits of the Spirit. (deep insight, right?) While this statement is easy to make, the conclusion is that the opposite of these attributes are NOT from the Spirit of God. When I lack love, joy, peace, etc. I must at the very minimum ask the question, “What is causing me to lack joy? Lack peace? Lack faithfulness?”
This is a great question to reflect on. Why? Because if the positive comes from the Spirit of God, the absence or antithesis of each must NOT come from the Spirit of God, but rather our sinful nature.
The same is true for faithfulness.
If faithfulness is the fruit of the Spirit, unfaithfulness isn’t.
So what leads us to unfaithfulness?
Well, let’s go back to yesterday’s devotion. If faithfulness is being true to one’s relationships, unfaithfulness happens when my love for the other person lags. Perhaps I try to justify by saying that the other person has changed, isn’t loving me, or doesn’t care. So it gives me an excuse to be unfaithful…to break my commitment to one person in favor of another.
If faithfulness is being true to one’s words, unfaithfulness is when our words sag. It’s when what we say is not true or what we say never gets put into practice. Again we may justify it and say, “It’s just a little white lie.” Or “Just this once, it won’t matter.” While we know being a person of their word is more honorable, we believe the lies of Satan who deceives us to think that occasional unfaithfulness on our word is ok.
If faithfulness is being true to one’s tasks, unfaithfulness is not showing up and doing what you committed to doing. It’s agreeing to work a certain time for a certain wage and accomplish a certain task. Again we may justify it to say, “I’m worth more so I don’t have to work as hard.” Or “I worked hard this morning, so I can take it easy this afternoon.” In the end we are sucked into the belief that “just getting by” is OK rather than always giving our best to what we committed.
If faithfulness is being true to our Lord, unfaithfulness is committing idolatry with another God. “Oh, I would never do that! After all, I would never make a fake God and worship it.” Easy to say, but what happens when money and the pursuit of it takes you away from worship on a Sunday? What happens when your quest for the perfect physique keeps you away from your morning devotion? What happens when sports take the pole position in your child’s heart? It’s just simply unfaithfulness.
I don’t like admitting it, but I need Jesus’ forgiveness in all these areas. I can let my relationships down. I can easily over promise and under deliver. I can justify not working as hard as I should. I can appreciate those that pursue other priorities because it happens in my heart to.
It doesn’t make it right. It just makes me unfaithful and in need of the Lord who is loving and faithful…always…for the very purpose to cover my unfaithfulness in his perfect faithfulness.
Apply: What area of life do you struggle the most to be faithful? Ask the Lord for forgiveness to cover it and strength to overcome it.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being perfectly faithful to cover all my unfaithfulness! AMEN