I always find it neat how God often sends certain circumstances in our lives to help us learn. And then when God does it to me I find myself confused and frustrated and even a little upset at Him. But in the end I know God's in control and this small 'trial' has been an invaluable learning experience for me. But I will tell you about my 'hard time' in a moment. First I want to talk about Faithfulness.
So what is Faithfulness? Well, we look to God and see that God is faithful. Throughout the whole Bible we see the story of God's faithfulness to His people. So what does it look like to be defined as someone who is faithful? Someone who is faithful is someone who is dependable, honest, loyal, trustworthy...you get the idea. Someone whose 'yes' mean yes and whose 'no' means no (James 5:12). Someone who sticks to their words, and follows through with their plans whatever the circumstances (well, maybe there are some circumstances that would cause you to have to cancel, like getting sick...).
It may be hard sometimes to be faithful. Everyday I am plagued with tiredness and laziness, oh and the worst of them all, procrastination. Aren't we all pros in the art of procrastination. Most of the time I would rather stay in bed and be on my computer than get up and do something.
Sometimes we make promises or plans that we realized after the fact aren't going to be easy to keep. And I know from experience that though it may seem easy for you to make excuses to get out of an obligation you have with someone it inflicts so much pain and disappointment on whoever it was you made plans with. I've been on the receiving end of this situation too many times to count. (I would actually suggest being upfront and honest when you begin making plans. Don't come up with an excuse last minute, let your friend know right off that it may not work out but you will do your best to make it work.)
Ways you can be faithful in your everyday life can be as simple as getting your homework done on time, being diligent in reading your Bible everyday, being a reliable and dependable friend, and faithfully attending church every week. What really helps is to make a schedule of things you need to get done. I find that when I have a written list of things to do I'm less likely to forget and am more motivated to get things done.
Okay, so we talked a lot about faithfulness. Now here's the part where I get to share with you what God has been teaching me about faithfulness. So in the past two days I've had three major disappointments. One right after another.
I've been wanting to bring my friend to the camp where I work and we've been planning it for a while. Then the day before she told me that it wasn't going to work out. Then the morning I was going into work I woke up with a fever and horrible sore throat and ended up not being able to go into work. That was a huge bummer for me 'cause I love my job so much. It's a seasonal job so I missed out on the last trip of the season; and who likes being sick and feeling miserable the entire day. Then, as if that wasn't enough, the next day I was still sick and I wasn't able to go to my friend's graduation. Yeah, I was really frustrated and disappointed. I didn't understand why God was causing all these things to happen to me.
Well, after I got over the upset/frustrated phase and accepted the fact that there was nothing I could do because I had no control over the situation, I knew that God was in control. That comforted me. And in this situation where I felt like being upset and angry I had to choose to trust that God knew what He was doing and it was for my benefit. Romans 8:28 was a comfort to me; "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."
So what does my experience have to do with faithfulness? It's been a miserable few days for me but I didn't let that get in the way with my relationship with God. When I felt like I had enough energy I read my Bible and I spent time in prayer with God while I rested on the couch. I chose to persevere and to endure my trial even though it didn't make sense to me why I was going through it. I kept my attitude positive (okay, I'm not perfect, I was grumpy and whiny a few times, but my aim was to remain positive.) Even through it was hard, I stayed faithful to God because I know God is faithful to me even when I don't always understand His plan for my life.
I also want to be faithful to always keep my promises and plans I make with others because it really hurt when my friend told me last minute that she couldn't come to camp with me.
So, I hope that by me sharing with you my experience it will help you to grow. Each day is a struggle to do the right thing. Each day it is especially a struggle for me to just let go and to let God lead because He's in control, not me. Now it's your chance to make the decision to push past whatever it is that is distracting you (tiredness, laziness, procrastination...) and to just do it. To be that one faithful person who everyone can rely on and trust. To be known for your dependability and honesty. There's no better time to start being faithful then right now.
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