Daily Devotional
Fruit of the Spirit: FAITHFULNESS
Wed., April 9 - Sat., April 12
Wed., Apr. 9
Faithfulness Defined
By Danny Saavedra
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“I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him, you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”—1 Corinthians 1:4–9 (NIV)
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What does it mean to be faithful? It’s not a word we use much nowadays. In fact, you more often hear its antithesis—unfaithful—used. You hear about an unfaithful spouse. You read about the hometown hero pro athlete who ditches the team that drafted them in favor of a bigger contract and is now labeled disloyal and unfaithful by the local media. So, you could say we kind of have a basic, vague understanding of faithfulness based on our understanding of unfaithfulness. But is there more to it? Does it go beyond basic loyalty?
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In the New Testament, the word for faithful is pistos. It means “unwavering reliability, consistency, and devotion.” It’s essentially a seal of guarantee, an ever-present constant that can always be counted on and never leaves room for doubt. It’s secure and unshaken by anything like the Shepherd's tree whose roots go over 230 feet deep. Nothing is going to uproot a tree that’s planted that firmly and deeply into the earth. This is the faithfulness of God!
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God is wholly faithful, reliable, unwavering, and consistent in His character because He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. His Word and His character aren’t wishy-washy. He’s wholly faithful in His Word because when God says He will do something, He does it, even when it seems impossible. And He’s wholly faithful to His presence—never leaving us, never forsaking us, and never turning His back on us. He’s always with us no matter where we go or what we face. As believers, He’s with us every moment of our lives. He’s constant.
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In today’s passage, we read how God’s faithfulness works in the lives of believers. Paul mentions first the grace given to us in Christ Jesus. There’s no clearer indicator of God’s faithfulness than His grace. Think about it: No matter who you are, where you’re from, what you’ve done, how far gone you seemed, how depraved you were, all who repent and believe are saved! And not only saved, but “enriched in every way” through the work of the Holy Spirit in us who gives gifts from God for our good, for the good of the Church, for the good of those around us, and for the accomplishing of God’s goodwill and purposes in the world.
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But it doesn’t end there, because He’s also faithful to “keep you firm to the end.” What does that mean? It means that as He works in you and sanctifies you, He makes you faithful! He gives you His faithfulness to endure and persevere, to be rooted and stand firm. Why? Because “God is faithful.” And if He’s called you into fellowship with His Son, into union and friendship, given you His name, and sealed you with His Spirit, you can be sure He will carry out an incredible work in your life and that He will never abandon you or cast you out.
So, what do we do with this? Three things:
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1. We can rest in the awesome and wonderful truth of His unwavering and constant presence and promises.
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2. We thank Him for His faithfulness to us and the faithfulness He bestows upon us to remain faithful to Him, to His Word, and to His work.
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3. We pray daily asking for the fruit of unwavering devotion and consistency so we can accomplish all that He has for us and to withstand all that the world throws at us!
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Pause: What is faithfulness? How do we see this attribute in God?
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Practice: List all the ways God has shown Himself to be faithful in your life. Be specific! Then, think of ways other believers have demonstrated this fruit. Finally, think of examples of how God has made you faithful and thank Him for all of it!
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Pray: Faithful Father, thank You for being who You are! Your character, Your nature, Your presence, Your heart . . . You are wonderful in all Your ways. Thank You that regardless of who I was and what I’ve done in my life, You are faithful in receiving me into Your kingdom because of the gift of grace through Jesus. Thank You that, regardless of how unfaithful I may be, You’re faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleanse me of all unrighteousness. Thank You for always being with me, always near me, always working, moving, and redeeming. And Thank You that You faithfully and generously give the Holy Spirit to sanctify me and make me more like Your Son. May I abide in You, Lord, and see the fruit of Your faithfulness displayed clearly through my life to the glory of Your Son Jesus. Amen.
Thur., April 10
The Link Between Contentment and Faithfulness​
By Danny Saavedra
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“For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”—Philippians 4:11–13 (NIV)
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Yesterday, we learned what the fruit of faithfulness looks like. At its core, faithfulness is unwavering reliability, consistency, devotion, and loyalty. Consider the common marriage vows you hear at weddings: “For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.” The idea here is fidelity and perseverance in any and everything; it’s faithfulness regardless of what comes our way.
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We also learned that walking in faithfulness to God can only be done by the work of God in us. 1 Corinthians 1:8 (NIV) tells us that the Lord Himself will “keep [us] firm to the end.” As the Holy Spirit works in us, He makes us faithful. He gives us His faithfulness, which allow us to endure and persevere through any and everything.
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This brings us to today’s passage where I want to show you how faithfulness is the result of contentment. Something interesting to note here is that Paul uses two different Greek words that we translate as content in Philippians 4:11–12.
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AutarkÄ“s (v11): to be self-sufficient. It’s an active term, but it’s also an inward term. This means Paul’s not talking about being self-sufficient in his ability to take care of himself, which would be outward. Instead, it’s this inward feeling of satisfaction he actively lives with.
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Chortazesthai (v12): to be totally full, lacking nothing. It’s the same word we see in Mark 8 after Jesus fed the 5,000 (“the people ate and were satisfied”). It’s the type of feeling you get when you throw down an epic meal, finish a 1,000-piece puzzle, or move into a new house and finally unpack everything.
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Now, the interesting thing about chortazesthai is unlike autarkÄ“s, it’s a passive verb, which means we’re the receivers of the work, not the doers. Philippians 4:13 (NIV) tells us: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” I love the literal word-for-word translation from the Greek: “For all things, I have strength in the One strengthening me.”
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Basically, like how a phone plugged into a power source never runs out of battery, when we’re connected to Christ through an intimate relationship, He provides us with this inexhaustible supply of power to be content in all things, which empowers us to walk faithfully with Him. The more we know Him, the more we trust and love Him, and the more we trust and love Him, the more we find satisfaction in Him, and the more we find satisfaction in Him, the more ready and able we are to endure, persevere, and remain consistent and unwavering. That’s the secret of contentment AND faithfulness.
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So, how do we ensure we remain faithful? How do we keep ourselves from wavering in our faithfulness to Christ and His work? Matthew 6:22 (NIV) says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” Did you know that a variety of studies in psychology have shown that intentionally looking at someone’s face and making eye contact increases feelings of love and affection for someone? It ignites and deepens relationships and feelings of gratitude and enjoyment.
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So, if you want to remain faithful, keep your eyes on Jesus daily and He will become your treasure. When you behold Jesus consistently, like a spouse who has eyes for no one else, you will remain faithful!
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Pause: How does self-controlled living make the teaching about God our Savior attractive?
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Practice: In John 15:8 (NIV), Jesus says, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” God ordained you to be an agent of transformation in our world, in our culture, in this present age. Not in isolation or seclusion away from the world, but in the places and spaces He has us. Not by fighting a war against culture, but by shining the light of Jesus into our culture! So, this season, be intentional in your workplace to let your good fruit fall onto your coworkers and your bosses. In your classrooms, let Holy Spirit fruit drop into the hands of classmates and teachers. In your homes, in your friend circles, in your gyms, on your teams, and at the restaurants and coffee shops you frequent, let your good fruit and your good works be on display.
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Pray: Father, teach me and help me to be more like Your Son, to live an upright, self-controlled, and godly life so I may draw people to You and not away from You. Help me in step with the Spirit and display all the fruit of the Spirit, the results of intimacy with You. Present me with opportunities to walk in the fruit of the Spirit and produce good fruit so others may come to truly understand who You are and how much You love them. Amen.
Fri., April 11
The Fruitfulness of Faithfulness
By Pastor Dan Hickling
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“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much . . .”—Luke 16:10 (NKJV)
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As we learn more and more about the fruit God’s Spirit wants to generate in our lives (Galatians 5:22–23), we come to the fruit of “faithfulness.” To best understand this fruit, we’re well served to understand the actual word that God’s Spirit chose to describe the very quality He’s committed to creating in us. In the case of “faithfulness,” the original Greek word used is pistis—and it’s no exaggeration to say that this is one of the most important words in the entire Bible.
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In most biblical instances, pisits is translated as “faith” instead of “faithfulness.” Now consider the place that faith has in spiritual things. In its most basic sense, faith is assurance in something. It’s the trust in something that has been stated as being true. One very practical definition is “to rest one’s full weight upon.” Think that through, whether it’s a chair or a set of stairs, you completely trust that object is able to hold your body’s weight. So, you exercise faith as you sit or step on it.
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But let’s raise the stakes a few levels. The CN Tower in Toronto is one of the tallest manmade structures in the world at 1,815 feet. However, there’s an observation deck at the 1,122-foot level where the designers have replaced the metal flooring with clear glass panels! It takes pistis to walk on those panels as you fully trust them to keep you from becoming part of the pavement below.
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That’s the quality of faith, the solid assurance, and the sense of reliability, that the Holy Spirit seeks to produce in us. Our lives are to be a source of stability and trust for others. When people hear our name and consider our character, there ought to be confidence that goes along with that. There should be faithfulness that can be counted on to keep our word and make good on our promises. A life that embodies this trait has the ability to impact a lot of lives because it will attract a lot of trust. Faithful lives will also be fruitful lives.
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Jesus exposes the fruitfulness of faithfulness in the verse above as He states that those who are faithful in what’s least will also be faithful in much. In other words, when you prove yourself to be reliable and dependable with what little you’ve been given, you’re eventually going to be entrusted with more. Any employer in earthly things understands this. They’re going to give more opportunities to those who demonstrate faithfulness. How much more, then, does God value faithfulness when it comes to spiritual things? Faithfulness must come first if we’re going to be effective stewards of spiritual things.
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All of this points us to a better understanding of why this is one of the fruits God’s Spirit wants to produce in us. Faithfulness is pivotal, not just in establishing a worthy reputation and reflection of who He is, but it’s also the key qualifier in our continued growth in serving Him and His people. Without faithfulness, our lives won’t flourish. With it, we’ll experience a fruitfulness that can feed many lives beyond just our own.
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Pause: Why is faithfulness such an important quality in the Christian’s life?
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Practice: Consider what being faithful/unfaithful looks like in your life given what God has already entrusted to you.
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Pray: Father, I want to be fruitful in serving You and Your people with my life. I also know that faithfulness is an important part of this being possible. Please continue Your good work of making me more and more faithful, just as You are. Amen.
Sat., April 12
Entrusted with the Mystery
By Samantha Rodriguez
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“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”—1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV)
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Have you ever been entrusted with a specific job or with guarding a special item? If you have, you know what it feels like to have the pressure of that responsibility. One instance I can think of in my own life is when I was entrusted with a master key for my residence hall. This master key unlocked every single room in the building, and there was only one of these keys. If I ever lost it, then it would cost me a lot of money, as well as the trust placed in me. Thankfully, every time I used the key, nothing happened to it and I was able to return it to its spot safe and sound in our key box. Nonetheless, I still knew there was weight to this responsibility and privilege.
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I wanted to paint this picture for you because today’s Scripture highlights the fruit of the Spirit: faithfulness. Some characteristics of a faithful person include them being constant, trustworthy, and loyal. These are big words that require a lot from us, and we’re imperfect and flawed human beings who cannot possibly live up to these expectations on our own. That’s why this is a fruit of the Spirit. We must continue to root ourselves in Christ, soak in His Word and in prayer, and let the Holy Spirit transform our hearts by pruning sinful areas in them so we can grow and produce faithfulness. But how can we practice faithfulness? What does Scripture tell us we’ve been entrusted with?
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Well, if you read the verse right before our Scripture today, you’ll see that it says, “This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed” (1 Corinthians 4:1 NIV). We must explore some of the contexts before we can fully grasp the kind of faithfulness we’re called to practice in this passage. Paul is reminding the Corinthian church of their new identity as servants of Christ who’ve been entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed in recent times. There are a few different references to these “mysteries” in Scripture, but the main one Paul is most likely referring to here is the mystery of Christ’s redemption.
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In 1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV), Paul claims that “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” This mystery we’ve been entrusted with is that of the gospel because it doesn’t make sense that the perfect, mighty, and righteous God of the universe would die to save and redeem His people who aren’t even all going to love Him in return, let alone love Him with the same perfection. His love is perfect and incomprehensible, though, and that is why we need it! We need to be reconciled to our God because of the sin that separates us from Him, and the good news is that God made a way for us because we couldn’t on our own! That’s why Paul says in Colossians 4:3 (NIV) that this message is “the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.”
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So, I beg the question, will you be a faithful steward of this gospel message we have? You’ve been entrusted with life-changing news, so what will you do with it?
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Pause: Have you ever considered yourself to be entrusted with the mystery of Christ’s redemption? How does today’s devotion make you feel in light of this gift?
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Practice: Today, be faithful to the gospel and share it with someone. Perhaps it’s someone at work or a stranger in the grocery store, or perhaps it’s simply a reminder to give to your spouse, friend, or child. Proclaim Christ’s redemption in some way today and worship Him for it!
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Pray: Dear heavenly Father, You are so mighty and kind. Your wisdom surpasses all the wisdom of us here on earth to the point where it may seem foolish to us. I ask You to help me to never regard your gospel as foolish and that You open the eyes of those around me who still see it that way. Help me to be a faithful steward of this message so it will continually change my heart and so I can share it with others whenever I get the chance to! Amen.