The Fruit of the Spirit:
Faithfulness
By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe
Galatians
5:22-23 (NKJV)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
From Strong’s Concordance: the Greek word pístis is translated as “faithfulness.” The root word means “persuasion or to be persuaded, and to come to trust.” We walk in faith because we can trust the Lord and His word. We can trust the Lord and His word because God Himself is faithful. Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV): “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness”
“Faith is always a gift from God, (Ephesians 2:8) and never something that can be produced by people. In short, pistis ("faith") for the believer is "God's divine persuasion" – and therefore distinct from human belief or confidence, yet involving it.” The Lord continuously births faith in yielded believers so we can know what He prefers. He prefers what is best for us. In the gift of faith, we become persuaded of the superiority of His will. [i]
Faithfulness, like every aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, is founded
on God’s agape, His unconditional love.
Psalm 89:1-2 (NIV) “I
will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make Your
faithfulness known through all generations.
I will declare that Your love stands firm forever, that You
have established Your faithfulness in heaven itself.” I sing first of His love and then of His
faithfulness.
Our faith and faithfulness must also be founded in love. I Corinthians 13:1-2 (NKJV) ”Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
It is not faithfulness if I am obedient out of fear of retribution. It is faith when I choose to be obedient because I am aware of, understanding of and walking in God’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness.
“Thomas Chisholm wrote “Great
Is Thy Faithfulness” as a testament to God’s faithfulness through
his very ordinary life. Born in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky,
Chisholm became a Christian when he was twenty-seven and entered the ministry
when he was thirty-six, though poor health forced him to retire after just one
year. During the rest of his life, Chisholm spent many years living in New
Jersey and working as a life insurance agent. Still, even with a desk
job, he wrote nearly 1,200 poems throughout his life, including several
published hymns.
”Chisholm explained toward the end
of his life, “My income has not been large at any
time due to impaired health in the earlier years which has followed me on until
now. Although I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness
of a covenant-keeping God and that He has given me many wonderful displays of
His providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness.”[ii]
Great Is Thy
FaithfulnessBy Thomas Chisholm
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee,
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,
As Thou hast been,Thou forever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above;
Join with all nature in manifold witness,
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own great presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.
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