Faithfulness. To me, this seems like a big one. Like love, it is one of the building blocks of the Christian walk. Many will say that God is love, His very countenance drips with it and every time He acts, the action operates out of it. And yes, over the past weeks, we’ve been seeing how each Fruit of the Spirit is an intrinsic piece of who God is. To that degree, none should be discounted. But to me, God is faithfulness. He wouldn’t be who He is without His steadfast reliability. And maybe that’s not a great word for it. Reliability makes it seem so responsible or obligatory, but to me, God’s faithfulness is the fact that He has never once relented in His pursuits for His people. He is faithful because He loves, but His love for us is because of His faithfulness.

CANCELLED. That’s never a word you want to see next to your flight number at the airport. This past weekend, my husband and I flew up to New York to watch our friends get engaged. We flew in Friday night, hung out this weekend, and the plan was to fly back home Sunday night to be back in time for work on Monday morning. But clearly, we were in store for other plans.

As I said last week, I am deeply convicted that although we are certainly not persecuted to the degree of the early Church or even many parts of the world today, the American Church would be greatly transformed and invigorated if it were eventually to see this type of affliction. I believe it could be a great blessing to this country, and very well could be God’s grace towards His Church in many ways. Before you think I’m crazy, let’s take a look at how scripture shows how persecution, and times of affliction could very well be the greatest thing for the Church, and how it could be the very means of the Lord bringing about great revival amongst His people.

If you’ve been reading and following Soul Deep Devotions since the beginning, then you know my testimony: I’m the girl that’s always known Jesus. I never had this grand, tragic falling away story. Even in my college years, when I was in a sorority and wasn’t actively pursuing the Lord, I wasn’t that far away. My friends still saw me as a goodie-two-shoes. I didn’t do drugs, I didn’t go home with anyone for the night, and I always left the party before things got too crazy.

Think back to a time as a child when you desperately wanted something from your parents. Possibly a toy, an outing, maybe a piece of candy from the checkout or an ice cream cone from the ice cream truck. Have it in mind? Did you promise anything to your parent at that moment? Possibly bribe them through good behavior or even the assurance of future good behavior? Think back on that moment, or any moment where you exchanged the promise of compliance for something you wanted from someone else. At that time, what do you think the motive behind your obedience was?