Faithfulness and a Host of other Attributes: Sherelle Ducksworth
The Christian life can seem like a dance between trust and doubt. One moment, we run into the hands of God with full assurance and the next moment we stand before God in paralyzing doubt, fear, and even pessimism. There are times where we rest in the arms of the savior beaming with hope and joy believing in his promises and there are times where we turn away from him in skepticism. Similar to the Israelites, we walk proudly through fruitful land basking in the blessing of God’s faithfulness only to journey to dry land and where we forget about the past blessing and question God’s present provision.
Why do we move back and forth between trusting God’s faithfulness and doubting his faithfulness? A few things can cause us to doubt the faithfulness of God.
1. Maybe we believe that God’s actions are solely a response to our behavior i.e. God is not going to do this because I did or did not do (fill in the blank).
2. Maybe we believe that God’s primary interaction with us involves making bad things happen to us to teach us a moral lesson.
3. Maybe our life circumstances (dealing with the unfaithfulness of others) have made us reluctant to trust.
4. Maybe or personality (independent, do it yourself attitude, impatience, entitlement) hinders our ability to trust God’s faithfulness.
Whether reason 1, 2 or all 4 cause your distrust in God’s faithfulness, two things can help increase our trust in God’s faithfulness.
1. Recognize that the attributes of God are who he is not merely what he does.
The attributes of God refer to the properties intrinsic to his being. Attributes are not things added to God’s being or virtues that he gains. They are essential to his being. They are not individual disconnected traits but interrelated forming his unique and perfect being. His attributes are the essence of who he is. Therefore, God does not just do faithful things he is faithful and therefore incapable of being unfaithful.
2. Consider his faithfulness in connection to his other attributes.
In our earthly relationships, we determine whether a person is trustworthy by examining their other characteristics. We look at their honesty and their integrity and then we determine if they are trustworthy. God’s attributes are interrelated existing simultaneously and reciprocally influencing one another. Thus, we should think about God’s faithfulness in relation to his other attributes. Thinking of his faithfulness alongside his other attributes will deepen our assurance in the faithfulness of God.
Let’s consider the following attributes and what they teach us about God’s faithfulness.
Wise
A. W. Tozer defines wisdom as, “the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means…Wisdom sees everything in focus, each in proper relation to all, and is thus able to work toward predestined goals with flawless precision.”[1] Put simply, God’s omniscience allows him to perfectly assess all situations in light of the future and execute the perfect action. If God possesses this ability, his faithfulness is rooted in his ability to gaze across our time-bound reality seeing all that is possible and actual. God’s knowledge pierces through the hidden thoughts and hearts and surveys every fiber of our being and this world. With this perfect knowledge, God is the only one capable of executing a perfectly wise action. He is faithful to act in accordance with his perfect wisdom!
Gracious
Grace is God’s disposition that inclines him to give generously to those undeserving of his good and perfect gifts. In the Christian life, grace serves to keep us! Grace is the fuel that ignites our endurance giving us the ability to hold on for dear life during times of uncertainty and move forward in life while our body and soul feels depleted and restless. God’s faithfulness is carved in grace flowing into our lives like a cool breeze providing just the right measure of relief and tenderness when life feels burdened and hard. He is faithful to act graciously to us!
Holiness
God is holy! He is not only free from sin but is always separate from sin. The holiness of God means that God cannot be sinful or do anything sinful. Thus, his faithfulness is a holy faithfulness. In other words, God’s actions are not capable of being malicious, shady, or evil but are always upright. He prepares his actions by his holy hands in his holy presence and executes them with the intention of producing holiness and good in our lives. Ultimately, everything God does flows through our lives with an aroma of purity pointing us towards sanctification and holiness anchoring our souls in his faithfulness. He is faithful to do what is holy in our lives!
Sovereign
God’s sovereignty means that he has full control and dominion over creation. It implies that God is free, free to do whatever he pleases. Our lives, choices, or sins do not restrict God’s faithfulness to us. The sovereignty of God secures God’s ability to move as he pleases in the world and our lives. So, the moment you determine that God’s actions in your life are his response to your choices and decisions, you are envisioning a God bound by you and not capable of acting freely. He is faithful because he does what he pleases!
In a world full of reasons to distrust, it can be challenging to trust God. However, remember that God is faithful and his faithfulness is who he is and exists alongside his other attributes. When we consider the faithfulness of God in relation to his other attributes, our knowledge of his faithfulness grows and our trust in him strengthens. Considering the attributes we reviewed, we can see God’s faithfulness as founded on perfect wisdom, springing from grace, wrapped in holiness, and freely flowing under his sovereign rule and authority. We can trust God’s faithfulness because of all that he is.
[1] A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy One, pg. 60
meet sherelle!
Sherelle Ducksworth is a native of Clarksdale, Mississippi and currently serves as a sociology instructor at Louisburg College in Louisburg, North Carolina and is currently working on a Ph.D in systematic theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.