Bear Much Fruit: Faithfulness

“I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.”
-Psalm 119:75

Dear sister, do you feel afflicted today? In the midst of your sorrow do you trust that our Father is faithful?

Before looking at the fruit of faithfulness, I want to take a step back and look first at faith. Hebrews 11:1 states that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This means that despite not seeing, we believe and trust that God will be faithful to do as He promised.

What does faithfulness look like? The entire chapter of Hebrews 11 list acts of faith, such as Abraham, who believed God’s promise and was obedient to the point of even giving up his long awaited son (Hebrews 11:17). Or Moses, who trusted God and gave up being “son of Pharaoh’s daughter” to identify himself with God’s people, and gave up the treasures of Egypt (Hebrrews 11:23-26). Even though this led him to 40 years in a literal wilderness with a grumbling people, he continued by faith.

The final verses of Hebrews 11 remind us of those who have suffered, and those who still are suffering, for their faith and, yet, have endured. The writer concludes by saying, “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised” (Hebrews 11:39).

How do we endure such sufferings?

“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth…. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.”
-Hebrews 11:13-16

They remained faithful by trusting in God’s promises. And, sweet momma, we can too.

I know that your sorrow today may be great, overwhelming even. Perhaps it seems that it will never change. I challenge you today to look forward with hope to the true promise. We live in a world broken by sin, and it is painful! Yet, we have a God who promises that He will one day “wipe every tear from our eyes” (Revelation 21:4).

He has prepared for us a city, a home, a “better country” than the one we live in. Now, in the meantime, while we look forward to that day of no pain or sorrow, we also know that God is near to the broken hearted (Psalm 34:18), He comforts those who mourn (Matthew 5:4), and He gives a peace that surpasses all our understanding (Philippians 4:6).

Will you choose today to trust in our faithful God? The Psalms are filled with references and examples of His faithfulness!

“As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!”
-Psalm 40:11

“But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.”
-Psalm 69:13

Search through God’s Word for yourself! Don’t rush through this. Meditate on verses that speak of God’s faithfulness to you. Don’t be afraid to ask Him to give you more faith. He calls Himself the “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), so we need Him to begin faith in our hearts and then continue to carry it out until completion.

I have focused on God’s faithfulness to us and our belief in Him, because it is out of our belief in Him that we will act faithfully. We are faithful when we believe that Jesus is a greater reward than anything else, and though we long for our children who have gone on before us, we can still have joy because He is our true reward.

We are being faithful when we trust that God is good even when we are suffering.
We are being  faithful when we believe God’s promises even when we don’t see them.
We are being faithful when we trust God to be our comforter and to give us strength to “rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15), even in the pain of seeing others receive what we have lost.

Our faithfulness can be made evident in many ways as we walk by faith through our grief.

A little over a year ago, our son Isaiah was stillborn when I was 35 weeks pregnant. My heart was emptied as we let go of hopes and dreams surrounding this child, and I longed for him to be with me. I looked to the Lord and dove into the Word for solace. He met me there and filled my heart back up with His love, peace, hope, and comfort. Through daily seeking Him and applying the truth of Scripture to my doubts and questions, He gave me peace that surpasses understanding.

This deep love and comfort that I experienced compels me to share it. Whenever I have an opportunity to share about Isaiah, I try to highlight God’s goodness and faithfulness to us. I want to be faithful to tell others about the hope I have in Jesus. It gives me comfort to do this, because for me it gives Isaiah’s life and death meaning. Every time I share about him a door is opened to tell someone else why Jesus is greater than everything else in this world. I get to honor the memory of my son by speaking of him with the hope and joy I have in Jesus. I encourage you to seek God and to trust in His faithful promises. The more you trust Him the more you will respond in obedience and the more faithful you will become.

Though we may not always see fulfilled promises in this life, continuing in our faith and the resulting faithfulness will bring the best reward in the form of praise from our Lord when we hear:

“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
-Matt 25:23

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Becky Kuehl is a joyful follower of Christ, wife to Sam, mommy to three children. She is a part time home health physical therapist who loves being able to share the love of Christ with people and spending time with her family. She loves being outdoors, camping and reading whenever there is time!

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