What do you think of when you hear the word, faithful? For many of you, you immediately when to marriage and being true to your spouse. Some of you thought immediately about God’s faithfulness to his children.
The word, faithful, is one that gets tossed around a lot, and while it’s not necessarily used flippantly, I did wonder if we many of us know what it truly means to be faithful.
So, a word study seemed in order.
If you’re unsure about what it means to do a word study, or why I do them, take a peek back at A is for Attentive. I explain more there.
Today’s word for study is FAITHFUL.
Faithful: adj. — firmly adhering to duty; of true fidelity; loyal; true to allegiance; constant in the performance of duties or services; constant; true; worthy of belief.
Key Word Definitions:
duty — that which a person owes to another; that which a person is bound to pay, do, or perform
fidelity — faithfulness; careful and exact observance of duty, or performance of obligations; honesty; adherence to truth
loyal — fidelity
allegiance — to bind; obligation which proceeds from an expressed promise
constant — fixed; firm; unchanged; permanent; unshaken
true — genuine; pure; real; steady in adhering to friends; honest
worthy — deserving; possessing worth; virtuous
Faithful Defined in My Own Words:
To be faithful is to have an unshaken obligation to another that is bound by the promise of truth, honesty, and loyalty.
Biblical References:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23)
Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. (Proverbs 3:3)
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. (Luke 16:10)
A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. (Proverbs 28:20)
Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. (Psalm 31:23)
My Thoughts:
After reading these, and several other “faithful” verses, I am immediately struck by how important it is in God’s eyes, for us to be faithful.
We are commanded to not allow faithfulness forsake us — to write it on the tablet of our heart. This reference to writing on the tablet takes me immediately to the 10 commandments, written on a stone tablet. Those were the most important commandments and were therefore written in stone. Being faithful is so important that we are to write in it on our life-giving hearts.
Think about that for a moment. Let it sink in.
God does not take a lack of faithfulness lightly.
In fact, His Word tells us that being faithful brings about great reward — abounding in blessings, fulfilled promises, preservation. The faithful will not suffer God’s judgement.
But look at what happens to those who are not faithful — punishment, abundant repayment.
Friends — do not take faithfulness lightly. Not to your husband, children, friends, neighbors, or God. The most significant aspect of all of our relationships is faithfulness. It is this faithfulness that gives us peace and calm assurance. Without it, there can be no real relationship — not with God and not with anyone else.
