Virtues for Christ-Followers: Faithfulness

The seventh virtue in our list is faithfulness. Much is written throughout both the Old and New Testaments about faithfulness. In biblical terms, faithfulness expresses the concept of being reliable, steadfast, and unwavering.

Throughout Scripture, God is spoken of as being faithful. When God revealed Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai, He declared: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.^”1 He is described as “a God of faithfulness^,”2 and in the Psalms, we read that “the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.^”3

God is faithful, unwavering in His promises and His love for us. Even if we weaken or lose faith, “He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.^”4

In the context of cultivating the virtue of faithfulness in our lives, faithfulness means being true to our commitment to live in accordance with God’s Word, to put Him first, and not give anything else priority over our commitment to Him. This concept is expressed in the first of the Ten Commandments, “You shall have no other gods before me.”⁵ The commitment for us, as Christians, is to be faithful to God by giving Him our primary allegiance, our love and dedication.

Faithfulness also means being trustworthy. When you give your word, you keep it. You fulfill your obligations. Someone who is faithful, who keeps their word, who acts honorably, will do so no matter what the situation.

As Christians, we are called to be faithful, honorable, trustworthy, and reliable in our speech and our interactions with others. In so doing, we reflect the Lord to others. “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.^”6

The following articles provide helpful encouragement on how we can grow in faithfulness and manifest this fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The One-Day-at-a-Time Fruit

Faithful people are dependable and true. They’re faithful to God, faithful to the work He has called them to, whatever that may be, and faithful to keep their word and fulfill their obligations to others. All of these things are part of their Christian duty.

Faithful people are that way because they are full of faith. Their faith is what gives them the strength to be responsible. They’re full of God’s Word, which is the source of faith,⁷ so it comes naturally for them to do what it says. Theirs is a living faith, and it shows.⁸ Faithful people keep going through thick and thin because they know Him in whom they believe and are persuaded that He will work everything out for their good in the end.⁹

How can you remain faithful? Stay close to Jesus. If you strengthen your faith through reading God’s Word and do your best to be faithful today, you’ll stay faithful, and that will be a testimony to others.—Rafael Holding¹⁰

What does faithfulness look like?

When a person walks consistently with God, in humble service to Him, he or she can be called “faithful.” When Nehemiah had to leave Jerusalem to return to Persia, he put Hanani and Hananiah in charge. The reason for his choice of these men was that they were “more faithful and God-fearing … than many” (Nehemiah 7:2 ESV). Nehemiah needed men of character whom he could trust. Men who would not take bribes, who were committed to the welfare of the people, and who would uphold the integrity of the office.

Notice, also, that faithfulness is associated with fearing God. The better we truly know God, the more we will want to imitate Him (Ephesians 5:1). Other examples of faithfulness include Silas (1 Peter 5:8), Tychicus (Ephesians 6:21), Epaphras (Colossians 1:7), Onesimus (Colossians 4:9), and Moses (Hebrews 3:2). Some of the names included in this “faithful list” are unfamiliar to most people. Not much is known of Tychicus or Epaphras, for example. But faithfulness, even in small matters, is known to God and rewarded in the end (Luke 19:17).—Got Questions¹¹

Never Give Up

The difference between faithful people and unfaithful people is that unfaithful people give up at the first sign of difficulty. Faithful people keep on keeping on.

Faithful people are determined. Faithful people are diligent. Faithful people are persistent. Faithful people don’t know how to quit. You know how a little acorn becomes an oak tree? An oak tree is just an acorn that refused to give up…

You are never a failure until you quit, and it’s always too soon to quit. God uses tough times to test your persistence.

When we started Saddleback Church, I thought we’d quickly get into a building. But we went 15 years without one. In the first 13 years of the church, we used 79 different facilities. You know how many times I felt like giving up? Just every Monday morning!...

If you’re going through tough times right now, then this verse is for you: “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:16–17 NLT).

God is more interested in what you’re becoming than what’s happening to you. He often allows trials, troubles, tribulations, and problems in your life to teach you diligence, determination, and character. What about the problems you’re going through right now? They’re a test of your faithfulness. Will you continue to serve God even when life stinks?

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9 NIV).—Rick Warren¹²

Choices for Eternity

Here are some ways you can make choices now that will positively impact your eternal destiny:

• Be consistent as you serve God, striving to be faithful in little things as well as big things. You don’t have to worry about trying to impress God with huge accomplishments that impress other people. For example, God will smile on you if you diligently change your baby’s diapers day after day. If God has called you to that mundane task and you’re faithful to it, God will be as pleased with you as if you had written a Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Even when no one else notices your service, God does, and He applauds you for it. Doing whatever God wants you to at a particular moment is what’s most important.
• Arrange your priorities around loving God and loving the people He has made. If you strive to do that in every situation, every aspect of your life will fall into place in ways that please God.
• Realize that you don’t have to wait until you have better circumstances in your life to be faithful to God. If you’re faithful with what you have right now, God will know He can trust you enough to give you more…
• Strive to handle every situation with integrity, and fulfill the commitments you have made.
• Persevere in your service by spending regular time in prayer with God each day and asking for fresh grace to strengthen you and keep you growing. Don’t ever quit; remember that God has a prize waiting for you in heaven.—Kent Crockett¹³

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“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”—1 Corinthians 4:2

Picture yourself standing before God on the day that he rewards believers. You are longing to hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” but as you glance to your left you notice Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary to China. To your right stands Corrie ten Boom, the saint who put her life on the line to hide Jews from the Nazis. Somehow, you feel a little small and insignificant.

There’s no need to. God is only looking for you to be faithful in what he’s called you to be and do. No matter if your calling is lofty or lowly, it is faithfulness for which he will commend you on that day when all believers stand before him. That means that your faithfulness may be rewarded by God with as great a glory as that reserved for the Billy Grahams of this world!...

So remember: God requires you to be faithful. That’s enough. That’s everything.—Joni Eareckson Tada¹⁴

The following anecdotes express touching stories, especially for those of us who are now in our senior years. It is encouraging to see how God continues to use His faithful followers throughout their lives to bring people to Him and to share the good news through words and actions with their neighbors and communities.

Biblical Greatness

I had the great privilege of seeing my grandfather cross the finish line. One moment he was sucking stale air through an oxygen mask; the next moment he was inhaling the glories of heaven.

By worldly standards, my grandpa wasn’t great. He didn’t have a single Facebook friend or Twitter follower. He never wrote a book, never spoke at a conference, never created a viral video. He didn’t have a popular blog.

Despite his lack of public fame, my grandpa was truly great in God’s eyes. That’s the funny thing about true, biblical greatness. Biblical greatness almost never goes viral, because biblical greatness almost always involves doing things no one ever sees.

No one saw my grandpa help his blind neighbor, Homer, pay his bills.

No one saw my grandpa give weekly Bible lessons at Saint Andrews Retirement Home.

No one saw my grandpa take Tom and Tony (older men on welfare) out to get groceries every week.

Every month my grandpa hand-painted approximately thirty birthday cards, which he sent to friends and members of the church. Over the course of his life he painted somewhere around 6,000 cards.

In our celebrity-infatuated culture, my grandpa was the quintessential anti-celebrity. He shopped at Wal-Mart. He once pulled out a rotten tooth with a pair of pliers. He kept score at local church softball games. He was a WWII vet who was most certainly not impressed with himself.

But my grandpa was most certainly great in God’s eyes. Shortly before he took his last breath, I read Matthew 25:20–21 to him: “And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’”

I wish I could have heard the cheers when Jesus said those words to my grandpa.—Stephen Altrogge¹⁵

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Dr. Charles McCoy was a pastor with seven degrees. His church expected him to retire at 72 and move into a retirement home.

But Dr. McCoy was an explorer at heart. He retired to India. His friends said, “You might die in India.” He replied, “It’s just as close to heaven from there as it is from here.”

He shared Christ before political leaders, educational institutions, large crowds. He planted churches in Calcutta and Hong Kong. At age 86, he died. A friend said, “He had come to the end of his great adventure. ... He had been faithful.”

God intends for us to be rivers, fresh and flowing, ever growing, never stagnant. He wants us to press on, to keep the wonder, and to think of our life in Christ as a Great Adventure.—David Jeremiah¹⁶

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One of the great things about being around Christian mission work is associating with people who are more faithful, more committed and more passionate about serving God than you are. They are a “cloud of witnesses,” as Hebrews 12:1 describes the saints of old, who motivate the rest of us to pursue a higher calling.

Anna, a 98-year-old lady in my church, participates in multiple ministries during a typical week. Recently she spoke at a women’s detention facility and 14 inmates gave their lives to Christ. Anna has a great sense of humor, too. No one can top that! But we can listen to her wisdom, learn from her life and follow her example with God’s help.

To paraphrase Forrest Gump, faithful is as faithful does.—Erich Bridges¹⁷

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I have never met Mary Ruth, but I’ve received inspiring letters from her. She has known Christ as her Savior for 63 years, and she is investing her life in doing business for Him until He returns. Here is an excerpt from one of her letters:

“Each night before I go to sleep, I say, ‘Good night, Lord Jesus. I love You. I’ll see You in the morning, either here or there (heaven).’ When I awake and see that I am still here, I say, ‘Good morning, Lord. I love You. I see we have another day together.’ Immediately I report for duty and ask Him to let me know, moment by moment, His plans for the day so we can ‘get with it’ together. I aim to help everyone I can to get ready to meet Him.”

Mary Ruth then wrote about recent opportunities she and her brother had to witness to people from other countries, and she said that several had received Christ. “God reached Chinese, Vietnamese, Buddhists, and a Jew—all in 3 days, and I didn’t need a passport, visa, or plane ticket. God brought them to us, and all I had to do was report for duty.”—Joanie Yoder¹⁸

Prayer for Faithfulness

Dear Heavenly Father, I am humbly reminded of my commitment to You—a commitment that calls for faithfulness in both the calm and the storms of life. I understand that faithfulness is not determined by the absence of storms, but by my unyielding allegiance to You in the midst of those storms.

When the winds blow and the waves rise, when I am tossed to and fro by the challenges of this life, help me to remain steadfast and faithful. I am acutely aware, Lord, that faithfulness during the storm is a testament to my trust in You. It means looking beyond the raging storm, beyond the unsettling waves, and focusing my eyes on You.

I need Your strength, Lord, to remain anchored to You, to hold on to Your promises... Teach me to not only be faithful in the storm but to also find joy in the midst of it. Amen.—ChristiansTT.com¹⁹

Food for Thought

“Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His word]” (Hebrews 10:23 AMP).

“I know of nothing which I would choose to have as the subject of my ambition for life than to be kept faithful to my God till death, still to be a soul winner, still to be a true herald of the cross, and testify the name of Jesus to the last hour.”—Charles Spurgeon

His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23).

You are writing a Gospel, a chapter each day,
By the deeds that you do and the words that you say.
Men read what you write, whether faithful or true:
Just what is the Gospel according to you?—Paul Gilbert

(To be continued.)

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Note

Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.