Fleeting Faithfulness
God had to decide how to punish Israel and Judah for their fleeting faithfulness.(Hosea 6:4) He told them that their faithfulness was like a morning cloud or early dew that goes away quickly. What an indictment of their faith in God! The reality is that fleeting faithfulness is unfaithfulness, which must be punished by the Lord.
It seems that many people who say they have faith in God have trouble being faithful for any length of time. They begin in the morning to trust God by being faithful in a particular area of life, but by 10 am, they have already become unfaithful. Maybe they make a commitment to tell the truth completely, but very soon, they are lying again. Perhaps, it has to do with being angry, using profanity, or viewing pornography. Perhaps, it is something we promise God that we will do like have a quiet time, pray, or read the Bible daily. Then, we fail in just a day or two. Whatever the sin, the point is that it is fleeting faithfulness. God can't bless us while we are in that condition. He has to punish us to attempt to stop the wrong behavior and encourage right behavior. If not, our sin will get worse and worse.
Faithfulness may be a challenge, but it a always possible to remain faithful to the Lord. If we depend on the Spirit for strength and wisdom, as well as asking Jesus to direct our steps and words, we can remain faithful all day or even days and weeks at a time. Then, when we grow in the Lord, we can win the victory over all kinds of sins, so that we are always faithful in that area. Faithfulness should not be fleeting, but lasting.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Hosea 8-10.
It seems that many people who say they have faith in God have trouble being faithful for any length of time. They begin in the morning to trust God by being faithful in a particular area of life, but by 10 am, they have already become unfaithful. Maybe they make a commitment to tell the truth completely, but very soon, they are lying again. Perhaps, it has to do with being angry, using profanity, or viewing pornography. Perhaps, it is something we promise God that we will do like have a quiet time, pray, or read the Bible daily. Then, we fail in just a day or two. Whatever the sin, the point is that it is fleeting faithfulness. God can't bless us while we are in that condition. He has to punish us to attempt to stop the wrong behavior and encourage right behavior. If not, our sin will get worse and worse.
Faithfulness may be a challenge, but it a always possible to remain faithful to the Lord. If we depend on the Spirit for strength and wisdom, as well as asking Jesus to direct our steps and words, we can remain faithful all day or even days and weeks at a time. Then, when we grow in the Lord, we can win the victory over all kinds of sins, so that we are always faithful in that area. Faithfulness should not be fleeting, but lasting.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Hosea 8-10.