Take My Hand Inspirations
Fruit of the Spirit Series
FAITHFULNESS: The Seventh
Fruit
Faithfulness is the embodiment of loyalty—sticking with a
person, plan or purpose when times are good or bad; through every success or
failure. It is an undying, un-daunting
“magnetism” that makes you stick to a person, plan, or purpose because you
believe with your whole heart that it is right.
Faithfulness is a quality of having great trust or
confidence in what or who you are following or supporting.
This
fruit goes deeper than your consciousness (at the thought level), and bears
itself stronger (from the heart, the soul) than mere friendship or partnership
or familial loyalty—being loyal to family just because they’re blood.
A
friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity. But there is a friend who sticks closer than
a brother. (Proverbs
17:17; 18:24b).
When
observing how the Fruit of Faithfulness germinates, it is awesome to behold how
it attaches itself to the “branch”—that person, plan or purpose it chooses to
“stick” to or with in the sunshine (abundance) or through the storms
(adversity) of life. This fruit
definitely comes through the portal of Love, and passes through the stages of
being Joy, Peace, and Patience (longsuffering).
These four fruits enable one to discern clearly what is right or wrong
in his/her belief system and whole-heartedly wants to discard anything unworthy
of God’s Kingdom while living here on planet earth.
After
Longsuffering, Elizabeth could finally tear herself off the branch of her
twisted physically, psychologically and verbally abusive 20 year marriage.
Twenty years of trying to “change” the man she loved since high school. Twenty years of praying for him to stop
traumatizing her every day since the “I do” was legalized by the Reverend
Minister on that beautiful spring Sunday—20 years, a house, car, careers, two
children and a dog ago. She couldn’t
believe she actually signed the divorce papers bombarded by incredibly fearful
doubts: “Is God going to reject me because He clearly does not like divorce
(Malachi 2:16)?”
What
makes a woman loyal even through bedeviling beatings and batterings from the
one she loves and has attached her life to? Is this the result of bearing the
Fruit of Faithfulness? 
No,
dear Children of God. Before entering
into any relationship, or agreeing to become business partners or following a
particular prophet, pastor, preacher; or putting yourself into a course of
study, take your "blinders" off and—CHECK THE ROOT OF THE
MATTER—that person, plan or purpose.
From our last soul conversation in Blog #23—It’s Raining! -- Jesus reminded us that He is the true vine and we are the
branches and that every branch that bears fruit, our Heavenly Father prunes
that we may bear more fruit (John 15:1-2) If Jesus is the True Vine, then His roots
come directly from His Father in heaven.
Are
your current relationships expressing the Fruit of Faithfulness—true and
unchanging love, support, loyalty sticking to the True Vine? Is that woman you want to marry rooted from
the True Vine? Was that marriage
consummated from the root of the True Vine?
Is this course of study you’re enrolled in embedded in the branches of
the True Vine? CAN YOU GLORIFY GOD WITH YOUR ATTACHMENTS? If not, Longsuffering is
your portion. You will continually bear
this fruit and will not be able to go on further to enjoy the other Fruits
until you allow the Vinedresser—God, the Father—to prune you. 
TAKE
TIME TO CHECK THE ROOT FROM WHERE YOUR ATTACHMENTS COME. AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE TRUE VINE. Greater
love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I
command you. You did not choose Me, but
I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your
fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give
you (John 15:13-16).
The
Love of our Father is why His Son was sent as humanity’s redemptive True
Vine. If we stick to this Vine, we shall
go beyond bearing the Fruit of Long suffering and release the gametes birthing
Kindness and Goodness (after learning valuable lessons in how to be thankful
for everything good, godly in our lives and extending that gratitude into
blessing others with our acts of goodness, godliness.)
And
now, we bear the Fruit of Faithfulness because we know our God is Faithful even
unto death to redeem us from our dreadful carnality in exchange for our rebirth
as new creations washed and cleansed by His blood and the water of His word (John
15:3) My sheep listen to My voice; I
know them, and they follow Me. My
Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them
out of my Father’s hand. I and the
Father are one (John 10:27-30).
Assess,
think about, what person, plan, or purpose you are following so
faithfully. The Fruit of Faithfulness
can only be born by its attachment to the True Vine, whereby it receives its
life from the Root of the True Vine. All
other matters and attachments are sinking sand, Dear One.
It’s
not too late to come onto the True Vine.
Shake yourself off evil or false (untrue) branches and run into the
embrace of Jesus Christ. He’s standing
right there at the door of your heart knocking to be let in. Won’t you let Him in?
Psalm 37:5—Trust in the Lord, and
do good
[bearing
the Fruit of Goodness]. Dwell in the
land [the soil of the True Vine], and feed
on His faithfulness . As you bear this Fruit, savour how
scrumptious it is!
© 2018 by Take My Hand Inspirations, a
division of PepParadise Society Ltd Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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prior written permission of the publisher.
The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Unless otherwise stated, all scripture
quotations are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas
Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All
rights reserved.
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Take My Hand Inspirations
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