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Faithfulness: When God Holds What You Cannot · Fostering Faith

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  Welcome back to Fostering Faith and we hope that
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  you guys tuned in last week for our Thanksgiving
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  episode. If you didn't go check it out as we
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  pause these series for just a podcast on Thanksgiving
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  and how the Holy Spirit really is kind of just
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  directing us into a posture of Thanksgiving.
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  And so we're gonna step back into our series
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  of the fruits of the spirit and we are on faithfulness.
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  And so if you are new to this podcast, welcome
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  to Fostering Faith. We're a podcast where we
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  don't have it all figured out, but we are walking
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  through this phase journey together as a community.
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  And if you are back for more episodes, because
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  you've tuned in before, welcome back home. And
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  so today we're going to step into a world that
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  we throw around often, but rarely slow down enough
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  to feel, examine, or even understand. A word
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  that seems simple on the surface, but it's actually,
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  I think, a little bit deeper. One of the strongest
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  most life -altering characteristics that God
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  forms within his people and today we're gonna
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  be talking about faithfulness and I was reading
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  in Psalms actually just this morning and it was
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  Just about his faithfulness and so font Psalm
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  52 8 But for me, I am like an olive green olive
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  tree in the house of God I trust in the faithfulness
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  of God and forever ever I will praise you forever
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  because you have done it and so just because
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  of his faithfulness and so We're gonna be talking
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  about faithfulness not fluffy Inspirational fluffiness,
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  you know faithfulness not surface level try harder
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  version not a Christian performance version I'm
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  talking about the faithfulness the way that God
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  defines it and the way that scripture roots it
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  and the way that Jesus models it and the way
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  that the Holy Spirit produces it inside of you
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  when you are so weak and your strength is gone,
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  your motivation is low, and your circumstances
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  do not make sense. If you feel like you've been
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  hanging on by a thread, this episode's for you.
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  And so faithfulness is not perfection. Faithfulness
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  is not strong all the time. Faithfulness is not
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  ever doubting. Faithfulness is not having it
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  all together. Faithfulness is not pretending
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  that you're okay. Faithfulness in its purest
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  biblical form is this. Not letting go of God
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  when everything in life pressures you to let
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  go. Faithfulness is holding on, sometimes by
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  a whisper, sometimes by a wounded hand, sometimes
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  through tears, to the truth that God is. God
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  is who he says he is, even when seasons don't
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  look like you expected. And I want you to hear
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  me clearly. If life has been hard, if the year
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  hasn't gone the way that you've hoped, if you're
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  tired, confused, overwhelmed, or even disappointed,
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  none of that disqualifies you from faithfulness.
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  In fact, those are the places where real faithfulness
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  is born. James 1 .12 says, blessed are those
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  who preserve under trial. Perseverance is not
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  glamorous, but it is holy. Faithfulness is not
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  loud, but it's powerful. Faithfulness is not
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  always exciting, but it is eternal. Faithfulness
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  is what heaven rewards. And let's go back into
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  scripture. Faithfulness is woven into the entire
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  Bible, in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
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  One of the most beautiful passages in the Old
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  Testament is Lamentations 3 22 through 23, where
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  Jeremiah says, they are new every morning great
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  is your faithfulness this makes me like what
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  what makes this verse so stunning is not the
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  words but it's context jeremiah isn't writing
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  this in a peaceful season he's writing it in
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  devastation the city is destroyed the people
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  are broken everything feels hopeless yet jeremiah
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  doesn't say life is faithful he says god is faithful
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  This is biblical faithfulness, the ability to
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  anchor your soul in what God is, not in what
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  life is doing. You see, the foundation of faithfulness
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  is God's faithfulness. Your faithfulness is not
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  something you manufacture. It is something that
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  you mirror. In 2 Timothy 2 .13, Paul says, if
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  you are faithless, he remains faithful, for he
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  cannot deny himself. God's faithfulness is not
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  a reaction. It's his nature. It's who he is.
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  He is faithful when you're strong and faithful
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  whenever you are weak, faithful whenever you
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  are steady and faithful whenever you're emotional,
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  faithful whenever you are running and faithful
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  whenever you feel distant, faithful whenever
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  your heart is on fire and faithful whenever you
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  can barely hang on. Your faithfulness grows when
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  you see You don't know, and I don't know who
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  needs this right now, but the Holy Spirit is
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  saying you're not failing, you're fighting. Faithfulness
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  is not proven by perfect behavior. Faithfulness
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  is proven by continued dependence. The very fact
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  that you turn to God when you're hurting, that's
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  faithfulness. The very fact that you pray when
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  you don't feel like it, that's faithfulness.
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  The very fact that you show up and worship when
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  the week has been so heavy, that's faithfulness.
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  The very fact that you keep trying, that's faithfulness.
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  And heaven sees that. Heaven sees what others
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  don't. Now, let's look at Jesus because his image
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  is a perfect faithfulness. In Hebrews 12, 2,
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  it says that Jesus endured the cross for the
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  joy set before him. Faithfulness carried him
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  through the suffering. through the betrayal,
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  through the loneliness, through the pain. Jesus
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  didn't endure because he felt good, because it
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  felt good. He endured because he trusted the
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  Father. And that is faithfulness that you can't
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  even explain. Trusting God's character when you
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  cannot trace his hand. Think about the Garden
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  of Gethsemane. Jesus was literally sweating drops
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  of blood. He was overwhelmed. He was sorrowful
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  to the point of death. And he prays, not my will,
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  but yours be done. The fact that he was sinless
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  and was going to take on the burdens of sin and
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  be disconnected from his father for a moment
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  in time. Can you imagine how that felt for him?
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  The overwhelming sense of taking on our sin.
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  past, present, and future. Everyone ascends.
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  Can you imagine that weight? And he says, not
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  my will, but yours be done. But that's faithfulness.
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  Faithfulness in obedience is in confusion. Faithfulness
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  is surrender in sorrow. Faithfulness is trust
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  in the uncertain. Faithfulness is to say yes
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  when everything inside of you wants to run away.
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  And this is where the Holy Spirit steps in because
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  faithfulness is not a fruit of your personality.
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  It is a fruit of the Spirit. In Inglatians 5
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  22, faithfulness sits right in the middle of
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  the fruit list, meaning the Holy Spirit grows
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  it inside of you. It's not manufactured. You
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  surrender to it. You yield to it. Faithfulness
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  arises whenever you stay connected to the vine.
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  And Jesus said in John 15 5, apart from me, you
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  can do nothing. That means you can't be faithful
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  in your own strength. Faithfulness grows whenever
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  you remain close in prayer, in scripture, in
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  worship, in that stillness, and being really
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  honest with God. And let's look at faithfulness
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  through the story of Abraham in Genesis 12. God
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  calls him to leave everything he's ever known.
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  No map, no timeline, no direction, no details.
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  No, hey, let's plan this for six months down
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  the road. Hey, turn on your GPS. Hey, we're going
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  to be there by 315. No, he doesn't give him anything.
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  God's only direction is go. And what's he do?
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  Abraham just goes, just goes. How many times
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  have you been called to go and you don't go?
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  Or we turn into like Jonah. God says go and he
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  says no. He's like, I'll be, I'll be darned.
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  I am not going. Uh, no, I do not like those people.
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  Um, and Nineveh, I'm not going. And he says,
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  he calls you to go bless somebody and you're
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  like, no, I'm not. They don't deserve it. And
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  so we, how slow, and so we've done a podcast
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  on that too. Uh, how slow is your go? And so
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  it's about go and Abraham goes and that's faithfulness.
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  But even Abraham, the father of faith had moments
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  of doubt. Moments of confusion, moments where
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  he tried to fix the promise in his own strength.
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  Yet God still called him faithful. Why? Because
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  biblical faithfulness is not flawless obedience.
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  It is continued obedience. It is walking with
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  God, even when you don't walk perfectly. And
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  some of you have been thinking about God, thinking
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  God is disappointed with you because you're not
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  perfect. But scripture shows us that God honors
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  the one who keeps coming back. And Proverbs 24
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  16 says the righteous person falls seven times
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  and rises again. Rising again is faithfulness.
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  And I want you to think about Moses for a minute.
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  In Exodus 33 15, Moses says, if your presence
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  does not go with us, do not lead us up there.
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  Faithfulness is not going everywhere. Faithfulness
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  is going only where he goes. Faithfulness is
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  not refusing. to move without Him. Faithfulness
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  is choosing the direction based on the presence
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  and not the pressure. And we can't talk about
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  faithfulness without talking about seasons. Every
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  believer walks through seasons of dryness, seasons
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  of waiting, seasons of silence, and the Bible
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  calls this the wilderness. And in Deuteronomy
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  8 -2, God says He leads us through the wilderness
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  to test our hearts, not to punish us, but to
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  form us, to refine us. to remove what's weak
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  and strengthen what's eternal. Faithfulness is
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  forged in barren places. And if you're in a season
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  where you feel like nothing is moving, nothing
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  is changing, nothing is shifting, this is not
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  a waste of time. This is holy ground. Wilderness
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  seasons don't destroy faithfulness. They reveal
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  it. Some of you need to hear this right now The
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  Holy Spirit is giving you credit for faithfulness
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  that you don't even see in yourself You think
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  you're feeling because you're tired, but heaven
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  sees how you're staying how you've prayed how
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  you've trusted you when your emotions didn't
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  match How you've showed up in ways that no one
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  else saw how you have clung to God when life
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  tried to shake you loose That's faithfulness
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  and Here's the truth faithfulness is not loud
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  It's not glamorous and it's not Instagrammable.
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  Faithfulness is quiet and consistent. Faithfulness
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  is hidden endurance. Faithfulness is showing
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  up. Faithfulness is staying when walking away
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  would be easier. Faithfulness is believing God's
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  promises more than your feelings. Faithfulness
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  is looking at the mountain and saying, my God
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  is still good. Faithfulness is Carrying the truth
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  of Hebrews 13 55. I will never desert you nor
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  will I forsake you And because God is faithful
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  you can be faithful And I want to bring you to
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  one more scripture because I like he said I'm
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  in Psalms right now And so Psalms 37 3 says trust
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  in the Lord and do good dwell in the land and
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  cultivate faithfulness Faithfulness must be cultivated.
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  It grows in the soil of repetition And so we
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  talked about repetition. We talked about consistency
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  a ton on this podcast and even just in like the
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  fitness and health repetition and consistency
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  pays off. It grows everyday obedience. It grows
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  in choosing God again and again and again. Faithfulness
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  is not proven in the big moments. Faithfulness
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  is built in the small ones. I think I have a
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  screen saver that says small choices lead to
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  big impact. And so let's end here with hope.
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  And so your faithfulness is not measured by how
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  strong you feel. It's measured on how consistently
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  you hold on to God, even in the weaknesses. The
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  Holy Spirit is the one who strengthens you, the
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  one who studies you, the one who empowers you,
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  the one who cultivates faithfulness inside of
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  you until it becomes a rhythm. And so how can
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  we put this into action. How can we put action
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  into this faithfulness? And so whenever you're
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  looking at how to become more faithful, how do
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  we put this into practice? And so stay close.
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  One daily, yes. Faithfulness grows with proximity,
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  not perfection, not performance, just proximity.
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  And so pick one thing today to stay close to
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  God. Read one chapter of Psalms. I have my kids
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  doing this in class. And so we read one chapter
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  in the morning and one chapter at night. Pray
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  for five honest minutes. Worship in the car.
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  Journal one scripture. Sit quietly and say, Holy
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  Spirit, I'm here. One yes grows roots. One yes
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  keeps you in the vine. One, yes cultivates faithfulness.
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  Two, stay honest. Faithfulness is not depending
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  to be strong. It's bringing the weakness to God.
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  And let's say what's real. God, I'm tired. God,
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  I'm confused. God, I don't understand. God, help
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  me stay faithful. Honesty invites the Holy Spirit
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  into places that you're trying to manage alone.
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  62 .8 pour out your soul before him. Pour out
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  your heart. Your honesty is your faithfulness.
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  3. Stay in the fight. Do the next right thing.
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  Faithfulness is not about tomorrow. Faithfulness
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  is not about five years from now. Faithfulness
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  is about the next right step. Ask yourself, what
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  does obedience look like right now? Then do that.
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  Not everything. Not a whole plan. Just the next
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  step. Send the apology. Open the Bible. Forgive
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  again. Show up again. Pray again. Try again.
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  Galatians 6 -9 says, Do not grow weary, for in
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  due time we will reap if we do not give up. The
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  next step. The next seed. And God will grow the
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  harvest. And if you want to be bold, speak this
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  out loud today. This declaration is powerful
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  for you. Say, God, you are faithful. And because
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  you hold me, I can stay faithful. I will not
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  quit. I will not retreat. I will not go. You
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  are steady and I am safe with you. Speak it until
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  your heart believes it. Speak it until you believe
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  what you say. And so we hope this message encouraged
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  you. We would love to pray for you this week.
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  And so dear Heavenly Father, thank you for today.
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  Thank you for yesterday. Thank you for the Holy
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  Spirit strengthening every listener with the
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  kind of faithfulness that does not break under
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  pressure. Remind them of God's unwavering faithfulness.
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  Thank you that we can trust you and obey and
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  surrender and stay close to you. Thank you that
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  you are never leaving us. Thank you that you're
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  not forsaking us. Thank you that we get to grow
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  in your faithfulness, that outlast emotion, outlast
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  the storms, outlast the seasons. Thank you that
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  we are anchored in you so deeply. Thank you that
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  we have steady feet and that we are not walking
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  away. Thank you that we are quieting our fears.
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  Thank you that we are showing up like you showed
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  up for us. Thank you for all that you do. In
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  Jesus name I pray. Amen. Well, we hope that this
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  message encouraged you. If you have a friend,
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  send it to them. If you know someone is walking
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  through a season, send it to them. Leave us a
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  comment. Leave us a review. Help our little podcast
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  grow. We love you guys and we hope that you are
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  faithful even in your weaknesses because it's
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  more beautiful to stay connected to God than
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  anything else. Have a great week. Bye.