Faith and Faithfulness
as gleaned from the Word of God
and A Gardener Looks at the Fruit of the Spirit by Phillip Keller
Because faithfulness is part of God’s character,
it is an expression of His selflessness.
His faithfulness is not influenced by us or our behavior
but by His commitment to us in relationship.
God, because He sees value and worth in us,
willingly invests all that He isinto us.
God knows that His love, His light, His truth,
His presence, His patience, His goodness, His kindness,
His constancy through time will stir,
in open hearts and humble, responsive spirits,
an awareness that His commitment is an unrelenting love.
As His faith in us continues and is coupled with His faithfulness,
we find the darkness in our lives giving way to the light,
despair shrinking and hope being born,
and we find ourselves desiring
to be more faithfully committed to Him.
Our confidence in Him
(and His ability to do what we cannot) increases,
and we grow in our ability to push on,
persevere through the difficulties that are,
and live a life that is unshaken by fear.
God’s demonstrated commitment in relationship with us,
has shown us the healing and transforming power
of His generous and faithful love.
We start seeing, in others, the potential that God sees
and we are drawn to pour ourselves out in selfless ministry,
sharing with them the blessing we have so graciously received.
And God's faithfulness has found another channel
into the lives of those in our life spaces!
We see that we are but stewards of that which we call “ours”
~ our time, energy, focus, possessions, learning, affection.
We want to “possess loosely” so that You can use them
in ways that will glorify You and benefit others.
We thank you for your faithfulness when we have let You down.
We see that You have been steadfastly at work
doing what is right and best in any given situation
to draw us closer to You,
to encourage us to grow, more and more into Your likeness.
We want the Holy Spirit to continue translating our prayers,
whatever the words we speak, to reflect our heart’s deeper desire,
to be fully committed to You and to Your mission!
By Twila Charles Leichty