It's a quality so valuable it can make you a success in every area of your life. What one quality could possibly be so precious? The quality of faithfulness.
According to the dictionary, faithfulness is "firmly adhering to duty, of true fidelity or loyalty, true allegiance, constant in performance of duties or services." A faithful person is steadfast, dependable, and trustworthy. He's consistent.
A faithful person keeps his word. When he says he'll do a job, you can count on him to get it done and done well. If he is being paid by the hour, he doesn't steal from his employer by wasting his time. He works diligently even when his boss isn't watching. He's honorable, treating others with the same kindness and integrity with which he would like to be treated.
Spiritually, a faithful person is exactly what that word implies - full of faith. He trusts consistently in the Word of God and acts consistently on that Word. He doesn't have faith in God one moment and doubt Him the next. He steadily believes God and does what He says.
Actually, the kind of faithfulness God has put within us is more than just a character trait. It's a supernatural force that comes to our rescue in times of trouble. It gives us the ability to keep going when things get tough. The force of faithfulness is what enables us to continue living by faith even when our fleshly inclination is to throw down the Bible and say, "I quit!" It's the force that causes us to go to work, and smile, and do our best - even on days when we'd rather stay in bed.
Jesus told us that those who would be faithful over little would be made ruler over much (see Matthew 25:21). So faithfulness is a sure path to promotion! Employers, for instance, are desperate for faithful people. The world is full of employees who will just do enough to keep from getting fired.
It's full of people who will slack off the moment the boss isn't looking. It's full of people who may come to work - and may not. That's how worldly people are! But it's a treasure for employers to find a person who works wholeheartedly at his job, who is trustworthy and dependable and honest. So when an employer finds a person like that, he's usually eager to promote him.
You may think, "Well, that wouldn't work in my case. My boss is an unfair man. He wouldn't reward my faithfulness." That's no problem. The scripture doesn't say your reward will come from your employer. It says your reward will come from the Lord!
You see, God has established a principle of sowing and reaping in the earth - and that principle is always at work. As Galatians 6:7 says, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap." If you plant faithfulness in your job, you will receive blessing in return - even if that blessing means a different but better job. Granted, that blessing may not come overnight, but if you will not be weary in well doing, in due season you shall reap, if you faint not.
So make up your mind to put your whole heart into your work, no matter how menial or unpleasant it may seem to be. Do it well. Do it with a smile and an attitude of enthusiasm and say, "Lord, You know this is not where I want to be. But I am sowing faithfulness into this job as seed for a better job." I guarantee you, a better job will soon come along.
Some Christians get nervous when they hear things like that. It scares them to think that difficult times might be ahead. But it shouldn't, because Psalm 31:23 tells us "the Lord preserves the faithful."
It doesn't matter how dark the world around us may become. It doesn't matter how hard the devil tries to bring us down, if we're steadfast, dependable, and trustworthy - constantly serving the Lord and doing what's right - God will bring us through in victory.
God gives us certain responsibilities in His kingdom. He gives us assignments. Our first assignment might be nothing more than to weed the flower bed at the church or to wait tables at a restaurant. But if we'll be faithful over that assignment, the next assignment He gives us will be bigger and better.
So start being faithful with what God has given you right now. Be faithful spiritually by diligently attending to the Word every day. Follow the instructions in Proverbs 4 and let God's Word "not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.... Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (vv. 21, 23).
Put yourself in position to increase in the natural realm by being faithful with the material things God has given you. For example, if you're living in a rent house and you want a house of your own, treat that rent house as if it belonged to you. Don't tear it up and be careless with it. For Jesus said, "If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" (Luke 16:12).
Until now, you may have acted like the most unfaithful person around. You may feel like you've made disastrous mistakes in your life by being been undependable and untrustworthy. You may have always been a quitter. But you can start changing that today because as a child of God, you have inside you His very own force of faithfulness. So start yielding to it.
Begin to strengthen that force by meditating on God's Word. Read and study what it says about faithfulness. Since faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, you can build your ability to believe you are faithful by turning your attention away from who you've been in the past, and focusing instead on who the Word says you are today.
And who does the Word say you are today? It says you are among those who have sided with Jesus. You can be among those who "are called, and chosen, and faithful!" (Rev. 17:14). The Holy Spirit will help you.
Determine to be the kind of person God can trust to follow through, no matter what the inconvenience or discomfort. Say, "Lord, I am a faithful person. I will get my job done and do it well. I will trust You to help me, energize me and create in me the power and desire. And I'll stay with it at any cost."
Step out in faithfulness and you shall abound with blessings!
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka: Kenneth Copeland Ministries