Faithfulness is not a tool to avoid problems but a tool to power through them.

Faithfulness... What does that word mean to you? It might mean trust, loyalty, closeness, truth or maybe perseverance. Sure, all of those words encompass the meaning of faithfulness but I believe that the true foundation of the word is belief; a belief in something greater than I can see or comprehend. How many times can you go back and recollect times when you displayed pure faithfulness in God and believed he had your best interest in mind? Those times when you thought all was lost and there was no hope left. Only later did you see his plan unfold and he revealed to you the areas of growth and weeding that had to take place. Areas you didn't even know about but God could see. Do you ever remember saying to your children or remember having been told as a kid, “This is going to hurt you more than me” whenever you were about to get disciplined? As the kid you’re thinking "yeah right! On what planet are you from?" But it’s true. And how much truer is it for our loving Father in heaven? Do you think he enjoys seeing you go through pain and anguish? No. He designed us to walk side by side with him in the Garden of Eden. I love this verse in Exodus 34:6, “The Lord passed in front of Moses and said, “I am the Lord. The Lord is a God who shows mercy, who is kind, who doesn't become angry quickly, who has great love and faithfulness.”Again, how often do you think about those times God pulled you through those scary, hard, dark, uncertain times? When you publicly declare that Jesus is the Lord and Savior of your life you better make sure you have your chin straps and mouthpieces ready because it’s about to turn into all-out war. But guess what, (Spoiler Alert) the war is already won! It was won 2,000 years ago on an old rugged cross and an empty grave. Do you have faith that that is the case? Do you have faith that God has your best interest in mind? If not go back and remember those times God showed faithfulness to you.I know this isn't ground breaking information and that I am stating the obvious, but I think it’s the obvious that we overlook and tend to just go through the motions with. We, and more notably men, want to over-complicate things to make ourselves feel more important or smarter than everyone else. That wasn't God’s design. He made Christian living simple. Notice I said simple and not easy, because Christian living is not a walk in the park. But guess who is walking with you step for step in full faith that you will come out of this stronger than ever? Jesus… "The Lord is a God…who has great love and faithfulness."