Faithfulness

I love it when God really tries to get your attention with a certain point.  You begin to notice it in a sermon, then a song, then a blog you read or a friend brings it up in conversation.  That’s what the Lord has been doing with me concerning this idea of faithfulness.

First my pastor spoke about it at church on Sunday.  Knowing it’s a struggle of mine, I began to dwell on it.  One thing that really got me was when he said, “The Christian Life isn’t always exciting; it isn’t always fire. It’s faithfulness.”  Man, was that exactly what I needed to hear.  I’m one of the worst offenders when it comes to being dissatisfied with the daily routines of life; particularly the Christian life.  I want my existence to be one continuous mountaintop moment even though I know that isn’t possible.  I struggle with remaining faithful when there seems to be no “peaks” in sight.

The next reminder came in the form of a quote I found while perusing the internet.  Mother Teresa once said, “I don’t pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.”  I read this and began to think about her life.  She was the antithesis of worldly success but the epitome of faithfulness.  I could learn a thing or two or twenty from her servant’s heart.  She grasped the concept that serving God is a life sentence.  It’s not a matter of how we feel that day or who we’re serving or what we may get in return.  It is simply obedience to God’s call…every single moment of every single day. 

Faithfulness is defined as “steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; constant.”  I struggle to be constant in my affection to God.  I’m easily led astray by even the smallest of trials.  To this end, I would like to cite a familiar passage from the book of Hebrews.  I came upon this a few weeks ago and even though I know I’ve read it many times before, there was suddenly a new freshness to it – so much so that I began to cry out, “God , let that be me!”  Verses 32-38 of chapter 11 say,

                “32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them.”

                How I long for THAT kind of faithfulness!