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Joshua 21:45 (NIV)
Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
In the verse above, we see the perfect picture of God’s faithfulness. Of God’s trustworthiness. As followers of Jesus Christ, people must find these same qualities in us.
Ephesians 4:25 (NIV) tells us: Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
Good relationships require honesty. They require integrity. When we are dishonest or lack integrity our relationship with others is harmed. We must, as Ephesians 4:25 tells us, “put off falsehood and speak truthfully.” Dishonesty and lack of integrity are also not representative of God’s character. As Matthew 5:37 (NIV) tells us: All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
The evil one – the deceiver – looks for every opportunity to pull us into his snare. One way he does this is by using things that we have not yet fully turned away from. For example, if we are still living in sinful pride, we may want people to see us in a certain way. We may not be truthful as a way to protect ourselves or our image. The instruction in Psalm 34:13 (NIV) is clear: keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.
Trustworthiness also applies in our relationship with God. Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 (NIV) states: When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. Someone reading this may be thinking: I do not recall making a “vow” to God so this does not apply to me. But if we take some time and reflect, some of us may find that in our prayer time we committed to do something. Maybe it was to read the Bible more. Or wake up earlier to pray before the start of the work day. And we did not follow through on that commitment. Or if we did, we only did so for a short time.
Just remember that God knows everything about us. Psalm 139:4 (NIV) says: Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. If we are not prepared to follow through on what we say to God, it is better to not make the commitment.
There is just no way we can consistently walk in a trustworthy way without God’s help. We need the Holy Spirit. John 14:26 (NIV) states: But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. The Holy Spirit can show us how to be trustworthy. The Holy Spirit can also empower us to consistently live this way.
The more we follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, the more the nature and characteristics of Jesus Christ become our own. And the more we follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, the more this dark world will be filled with the light of Jesus Christ.
Psalm 44:20-21 (NIV) states: If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?
Except where indicated, scripture references are from the American Standard Version (ASV), Darby Translation (DARBY), or King James Version (KJV) – all public domains.
