Fruits of the Spirit Series - Faithfulness

Dec 5, 2024

3 min read

First, I would like to preface this blog post with the fact that I know we have skipped “goodness” and will definitely be getting to that next week! God has been communicating faithfulness to me quite a bit this past week and pushing me to share it on this platform.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

According to Oxford Languages, faith means to have “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”. During one of my devotionals, it discussed that we misappropriate our faith and choose fear, or, faith that something bad will happen. It’s the same thing with doubt: faith that something will not happen. The truth is, we all have faith, we just don’t always know how to use it correctly. The world has perverted our faith so badly that it sucks the life out of us rather than giving us life as God intended. Faith is supposed to allow us to do beyond what we can ask or think through God’s power (Ephesians 3:20). By putting our complete trust and confidence in Him, we can do anything that aligns with His will! We don’t always believe in the power of faith, although we should. We put so much thought and energy into things that make us fearful, doubtful, anxious, and frustrated that even if something wasn’t supposed to come to pass, it does. Think of a time when you had to take a test in school: did you put faith that the effort you put into studying would be sufficient or did you put faith in performing sub-par? What ended up happening?

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7

I stumbled upon a family-friendly movie called “Harold and the Purple Crayon” and watched through the lens of faithfulness. (Spoiler Alert!) The movie began with a man entering the real world with absolutely nothing but a purple crayon in which he could do absolutely anything. He used the crayon to draw things to make people happy and to help them. The crayon can symbolize the faith that God gives us. We, too, enter this world with nothing and are shaped by everything of this world. Unfortunately, this changes our perception of faith and dampens its power significantly for the things God intended. God tells us in that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). So why do we let little things consume us with doubt instead of faith? The Bible literally tells us in Luke 1:37 that nothing will be impossible WITH GOD. Having faith in Him only requires having something the 1-2 mm in size to accomplish His will. A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds on the earth! Ironically, people often mistake mustard plants for a weed when it grows because it is so invasive, large, and spreads quickly. Now, imagine if we liken the spread of our faith to the mustard plant? Faithfulness SHOULD be invasive because it not only encourages you, but those around you. Having more trust in God allows Ephesians 3:20 to be more evident in this world.

Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. Ephesians 3:20

Reflection and Application

How have the things of this world spoiled this fruit?
How can we redirect our faith to one that is divine?
What scriptures and previous personal experiences with being faithful have proven God’s faithfulness towards us?
Here are some scriptures to start: Romans 10:17, Romans 15:13, James 2:17, Mark 11:24, Proverbs 3:5-6, Ephesians 2:8-9

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