Throughout His Word, God places great value on faithfulness. In fact, building faithfulness to God is a noble pursuit that demonstrates our love for Him as we endeavor to live according to His will. One way we demonstrate our love for God is by faithfully keeping His Word.
I John 5:3:
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
I John 2:5:
But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can continually develop in our faithfulness to God. Building faithfulness in fundamental categories of our walk with the Father demonstrates our love for Him and helps us become reliable partners in carrying out His will. We obey because we love God, which is our response to His great love for us.
I John 4:19:
We love him, because he first loved us.
Loving God is knowing His Word and faithfully applying it in our lives. Love is one of our main motivations as we consistently keep His Word and carry out His will. Our loving obedience is key to a sweet relationship with God and is something we can develop in our walk with Him.
The following are some practical steps we can take to actively pursue our goal of becoming faithful in any Biblical pursuit:
- See your Biblical pursuit in the Word (Proverbs 3:5,6). Find verses related to the category you want to grow in. Find records of people who had similar pursuits and identify what they did to become successful. Knowing God’s desire for our lives and knowing His promises give purpose and motivation to continue in our endeavor, even when it is difficult to do so.
- Set a long-term goal and make a plan. Goals can provide scope and ensure you are building toward something. They can give you a way to measure your progress and keep you on track. Write out the details of your plan and be specific. Also, be realistic about what you can accomplish to help you be successful in achieving your goal.
- Schedule your time (Ephesians 5:15,16). Set aside time for your Biblical pursuit. We make time for the things that we deem important. If an activity is not scheduled into your day, it can be hard to find the time later, especially in our busy world where we are bombarded by distractions. Once you’ve made your schedule, stick to it! Your schedule can help you accomplish what you set out to do.
- Find a friend to keep you accountable (Ecclesiastes 4:9,10). Let someone else know your plans and ask if they can help you stick to your plans. It could be another believer who would also like to grow in their faithfulness. Knowing that someone else is trying to build a similar practice will add motivation for both of you. You can rejoice together as you each reach milestones, meet goals, and build faithfulness.
- Take it one day at a time (Matthew 6:34). Build on yesterday’s success, but don’t dwell on past mistakes. If you miss a day of sticking to your new pursuit, tomorrow provides a fresh start to do better. At the same time, don’t focus on tomorrow and the magnitude of what you are building, just do what you can today. A habit of faithfulness is built one day at a time.
I recently decided I wanted to become more faithful in the Biblical pursuit of exhibiting thankfulness and did so by using several of the steps described above. I began my pursuit by doing a word study on forms of the word “thankfulness,” which helped me see thankfulness in the Word. I saw the full extent to which it is God’s will for us to be thankful and the great benefits of being thankful. Then to continue my pursuit, I made a specific plan and scheduled my time. I decided to journal each night before bed, writing the details of three things from that day I was thankful for, even if it wasn’t a perfect day. Some days were hard, and I was only able to list three things I was thankful for. Other days, I filled an entire page with one specific blessing. Along the way, there were some days when I didn’t journal, but I didn’t let that stop my pursuit. I just got back to it the next day. I didn’t abandon the whole pursuit because I missed a day, and I didn’t let disappointment hinder my forward progress. By becoming faithful to this Biblical pursuit, I saw great fruit as I noticed thankfulness spill over into all categories of my life.
Have you considered becoming faithful to a new Biblical pursuit recently? What about increasing your faithfulness in the basics, like starting each morning in prayer and reading God’s Word? If so, good for you! Step-by-step and day-by-day, we can build faithfulness in Biblical pursuits, showing our love and thankfulness for God. Small investments of time can add up to developing great qualities in our lives.