Godly Tenacity Over Time – Day 15

Truth:

If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. Luke 16:10 (New Living Translation)

Thought:

How long does it take for a mountain to rise from the sea? How long does it take for the rivers to take the stone back to the ocean depths? How long will it be before there is more usable beachfront on the Hawaiian Islands… and is it too early to invest?

Have you noticed God thinks generationally? He’s the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yet we tend to think in terms of yesterday… and maybe tomorrow.  No wonder faithfulness is such an obscure idea for many of our minds to grasp.

Faithfulness is Godly tenacity over time.

Should we dissect that a bit? “Godly” means it is in line or obedient to the will of God. “Tenacity” is simply sticktoitivenesss. And over time means it’s not for a moment.

So can we define what God wants us to be faithful in? There are a few thoughts in scripture that focus on the need for our faithfulness.

Be True To Your Word

Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond
this is from the evil one. Matthew 5:37 (New Living Translation)

Honor Your Marriage

Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in
marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those
who commit adultery. Hebrews 13:4 (New Living Translation)

Use Your Talents

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of
spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:10 (New Living Translation)

Guard Your Tongue

And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of
wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life
on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all
kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame
the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.
Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses
those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! James 3:6-10 (New Living Translation)

Manage Your Money

And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust
you with the true riches of heaven? Luke 16:11 (New Living Translation)

Be Committed To Your Local Church

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another
above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual
fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:10-11 (New International Version)

We can’t do these things for a season and consider ourselves to be faithful. You can’t honor your marriage until times get tough. You can’t use your talent until your interest wanes. You can’t manage your money well just until there is a good sale.

You can’t be a little bit pregnant and you can’t be a little bit faithful. You either are or you are not.

The great news is God is faithful.  2 Timothy 2:13 says: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.”  Because He’s faithful we can have faith in Him to finish what He’s started. Philippians 1:6 says: “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

So if today is the day you start having godly tenacity over time, then great. Welcome. None of us can ever say “I’ve arrived.” But it’s wonderful to have one more on the journey.

God is going to bless you for it:

He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.
He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
He guards the paths of the just
and protects those who are faithful to him.
Proverbs 2:7-8 (New Living Translation)

Prayer:

Lord, I haven’t always been faithful. I confess my sin and ask You to forgive me. Thank You that Your word says when I confess my sins You are faithful and just to forgive me of those sins and to clean me from all unrighteousness. I want to be faithful because I want to reflect Your faithfulness to those who can only see You through me.

Challenge:

Are you faithfully managing everything that God has entrusted to you? Is there one of the areas above that you are struggling in? Confess it to a friend and to God and ask them to hold you accountable to be faithful.

Declaration:

I choose to reflect the light of the Son to the side of the world that’s away from the Son. I choose to put on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.