07.06.22 | The Fruit of Faithfulness
In Galatians 5, Paul encourages the church of Galatia to walk in the Spirit –something we all desire to do as followers of Jesus, as we commit to practicing his way. In verses 22-23, Paul then specifies that the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
This week, we will be focusing on the fruit of faithfulness as we continue through the four steps of FAST:
- Focus: Find a quiet place to settle your mind and open yourself to the Holy Spirit’s presence.
- Adoration: Spend time honoring and exalting God, tell him what you appreciate about him. Contemplate on who he is and what he has done. You might even be able to get a sense of his presence with you.
- Speak: Commune with God, taking moments to both speak to him about what’s on your heart and to pause and listen for his voice. Use journals to write down what you hear him say. Ask simple follow up questions like, “is there anything else you’d like me to know about [fill in the topic]” to really get to the heart of what Jesus wants to communicate to you and what you want to say to him or plead for while you fast.
- Transform: Commit to taking active steps to change or address what the Lord revealed during your time of fasting.
During the third step, Speak, ask God what he wants you to know about his faithfulness. How have you seen and experienced his faithfulness in your own life?
In his letter to Timothy, Paul writes that even “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). Reflect on a time when you were faithless or felt lacking in faith. Then, ask God to bring to mind the moments when he remained faithful in the midst of your faithlessness.
The Apostle John also writes in his first letter, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). What sins do you need to confess to God today to experience his faithfulness through forgiveness?
Next, spend time prayerfully considering how God may be inviting you to be more faithful to him and his mission.
During the last step, Transform, spend time with the Spirit, committing to being faithful in the ways that God has asked of you. This might be in confession, recommitting to specific calls God has given you in life, or through new ones he has revealed to you.
As always, we encourage you to share these commitments with a brother or sister from your community. In particular, if God has called you to confess any sins, you can receive his faithfulness through confession to someone else. Hearing the words “you are forgiven” is an act of God’s faithfulness to you through a brother or sister.