The Faithful One

<p>Faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit, and it’s vital for every Christian, in every walk of life (Galatians 5:22). When we are faithful, we are rooted in motivations and desires that are in line with the Bible, and our feet are steady upon the solidness of God. But faithfulness is something I struggle with... a lot. I find it hard to do what I need to do, because the desires of my sinful nature are at war with the desires of serving God (Romans 7:15-25). Feelings of discouragement and tiredness make it even harder for me to keep walking the straight and narrow path. My struggles and weaknesses pull me into a spiral of hopelessness and leave me feeling like I’ll never actually progress in my faith. Having fallen many times in my life, I sometimes question if God has given up on me.</p><p>.</p><p>While pondering these thoughts, I was reading Psalm 91 when something stood out to me. The psalmist writes, “His faithfulness is your shield and rampart” (verse 4). HIS faithfulness. Not mine. While I’m slipping and sliding on life’s path, God is steady. He’s firm. He’s faithful. Throughout our lives, we will always have sinful struggles and temptations, but God doesn’t leave us. He shields us, holds our hand, and promises to walk with us. Jesus is Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, everyone who puts their trust in Him is forgiven for all their sins. Not only that, but the Holy Spirit lives inside Christians, transforming their desires and empowering them to follow Jesus.</p><p>.</p><p>Through our weakness, God doesn’t expect perfection or performance out of fear (1 John 4:18). But He does expect us to find strength in His faithfulness, letting Him take the reins and fight our battles with us. He gives us the strength to endure, and He shows us a way out of every temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). As we lean on His strength in our weakness, we learn how much we need Him. We grow closer to Him in love, finding absolute joy in walking with Him.</p><p