The Fruit of the Spirit Day 7: Faithfulness
I was sitting across the table having a conversation with a friend of mine. Well, actually it was a man who would become a friend in one of the toughest seasons of his life, that was beginning at that moment. Honestly, he was a man that I admired from a distance. However, he had paid a high price for the public life he had created. In the moments we had together, he wanted to come clean. He bravely became transparent about his mistakes and the inner battle driven by guilt, despair, and disappointment in himself. He couldn’t find a way to forgive himself for what he had done. He said softly, “I am a fake.” After a few moments of encouragement about his recent confessions and how healthy, although excruciating, these moments had been for him, I asked a question that I have asked consistently in situations like his: “What does your personal relationship with God look like right now?” His head dropped, and he began to cry. In those moments, he opened his soul and revealed his lack of faithfulness in so many areas of his life. He had responded at first, “I go to church,” but at that moment, he realized that, although he did go to church, there was a deficiency in his spiritual life that was leading him to a place of insecurity, bad decisions, and pain.
I have realized over the years that we all have core issues in our life that can only be remedied through an authentic relationship with God. He has called us to be faithful and has modeled for us what that looks like with how He loves us and is faithful to us. Itʼs amazing to me that we have a God who loves us when we are not faithful — itʼs just part of His character.
Hundreds and hundreds of illustrations of the faithfulness of God are found in the pages of the Old Testament. It is interesting to see how many creative ways the people of Israel found to sin. As you read through their history, it is apparent that they were a mess! However, over and over again, God shows up for His people when they repent and turn back to Him. He had chosen to be faithful to the covenant, even though they had not. He loved them because He promised to be faithful.
God has made a promise that He will be faithful and just, and when we repent He will forgive us, cleanse us, and start a transformation process in us. He has modeled for us what faithfulness should look like in our lives (see John 1:9). In the moments of despair like the one described above, He has called us to repentance. The process of repentance begins with taking responsibility for our sin. Secondly, as we take responsibility for our sins we also need to be sorrowful for what we have done. We shouldn’t take these moments lightly, because these are the first steps to supernatural transformation in our lives as we turn away from sin. In Psalm 51, we see David write about this process in his life:
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Psalm 51:1 – 3).
The final part of repentance is resolving to do better as we move forward in our relationship with God and the people around us. I love David’s proclamation in Psalm 51:13 about how he will respond after being forgiven by God: “Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.” David is saying here, “I know that I have failed you, but you have forgiven me and I want to help people feel the same way about my faithful God as I do right now.” In other words, David wanted to be faithful to God as he rebooted his relationship with Him. He was committed to helping people in sin repent and develop faithfulness to God in their lives. Then, they would be able to bear fruit for the kingdom.
I have had the privilege of watching so many people restored after walking through a season of repentance and renewal, humbling themselves before God and letting Him get to work! My prayer today is that if you are stuck in sin, that you will repent and then find people to walk beside you in the restoration process that is promised by God. I promise you that although the journey will be tough, the peace that comes is well worth it. Make time to pray David’s psalm today: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Then, commit to walking in faithfulness as a son or daughter of the King, growing in this fruit of the Spirit that God has placed in all our lives.
Pastor Chuck