“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word faithfulness is defined as “steadfast in affection or allegiance.” This means it’s unwavering and strong. Think of the amount of trust you have with your family or closest friend, but much deeper than that. The faithfulness we have for God should be so strong because he is not sinful, he will not change or waver as us humans do who are not perfect and full of sin. It’s hard to build trust with someone, especially if they have broken it in the past. But God never turns back on his promises, so why is it so hard to have full faith in him?
Have you ever been in a dark place, dealing with a tough situation, or difficult relationships? I know we all have at one time or another. We turn to God for wisdom, guidance, and to remedy the situation, but maybe we don’t receive the answer we are looking for or maybe we don’t receive an answer at all, at least not on our time. How do we remain “steadfast in affection”? The previous fruits of the Spirit can help us remain sure. For example, patience, as hard as it is, is tremendous help in times like these. If we are filled with the patience of the Holy Spirit waiting on God’s perfect response and guidance is simple. Notice I didn’t say easy.
Lamentations 3:22-24 says, “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” This verse says it perfectly. It is not known exactly who wrote the book of Lamentations, but many believe it was the prophet Jeremiah. The words are literally laments over the destruction of Jerusalem. Sometimes it helps to have some context to get a deeper meaning to the verse. Even in the midst of disaster and turmoil they had reason to hope and rejoice in their Father. We have to realize we are the ones not in control and we don’t have all the answers as we think we do. God’s timing may not be quick, but it’s the perfect time. If we seek Him diligently through prayer and spending time in His word, we’ll understand and see that His ways are always good and full of love (even more fruits of the Spirit).
