Return To The Place Of Faithfulness

A Word From the Lord to a Bride He Is Calling Back to Himself

The Lord is calling us back to a place of faithfulness to Him. He is faithful and true. He never breaks a promise. The Lord is sure to keep every good word He has spoken to you or over your life, and Jesus seeks a bride that will be faithful to Him.

It is not enough to have faith; faith is only the beginning. Our deepest faith is transformed into our salvation when it manifests in our lives and becomes faithful to the Lord.

The Bible addresses this faithfulness in the book of Matthew, where Jesus shares a parable about those entrusted with talents (money).

Matthew 25:20-21 NKJV—”So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ [21] His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

Becoming faithful to the Lord is important because, as we are faithful, we reflect the Lord’s image. The Holy Spirit creates in us the image of God. This transformation occurs not just because we are His children, but because we choose to act like Him. Faith and faithfulness are closely linked, yet it is entirely possible to believe in God without having true faith.

Hear me in this: Belief in God without faith is possible.

And without faith, God is not pleased with us. Scripture declares that even the demons believe in God and tremble at Him, but that belief does not save. The only belief that saves a person is the one that expresses itself through faithfulness.

Someone might ask, “But what about the simple belief that Paul speaks of in the book of Romans?” Let’s read it together.

Romans 10:8-10 NKJV—But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): [9] that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

There are at least three forms of the word believe, or faith, that Scripture teaches. We often view them only from the perspective of our culture and how we understand belief. But these words are tightly linked, and each time they mean the same thing: belief or faith that DOES something—that takes action.

In this instance, Paul speaks of a faith that places weight on the work of Jesus.

The fact that Jesus died and was resurrected is truth upon which our active faith rests. It is not a belief that simply acknowledges something as real. Faith becomes faithfulness as it actively operates by the truth it knows. Until we operate by that truth, we do not have real faith or faithfulness; we simply have head knowledge that asserts we know God is real. Knowing God is real does not save a man or woman. Salvation comes from recognizing that God is real and that He has done the work needed to bring us to Himself, and then placing the weight of this belief upon the Lord through active faith that trusts Him daily and even moment by moment for salvation.

God does not operate from simple belief. He operates toward us in faithfulness. In the Old Testament, this faithfulness is expressed by the word emunah.

’Emunah (אֱמוּנָה) — em-oo-NAW

Meaning:

• faithfulness

• firmness

• steadiness

• reliability

• fidelity

• a life of steadfast trust that expresses itself in consistent obedience

’Emunah conveys the idea of being steady like a pillar, reliable like a rock, and faithful in one’s covenant commitments.

It is not just believing something—it is being steady, stable, and loyal.

This is how the Lord operates toward us!

Key OT uses

• Exodus 17:12 – Moses’ hands were “steady (emunah).”

Exodus 17:12 NKJV—But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

The picture is of unwavering strength.

Habakkuk 2:4 – “The righteous shall live by his faithfulness (emunah).”

Habakkuk 2:4 NKJV—”Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

A life of loyal trust in God.

Psalm 33:4 – “All His work is done in faithfulness.”

Psalm 33:4 NKJV—For the word of the LORD is right, And all His work is done in truth.

Psalm 33:4 NLT—For the word of the LORD holds true, and we can trust everything he does.

God is consistent and reliable.

’Emunah is faith that expresses itself in loyal action.

Faith that is accompanied by action is God’s kind of faith! God’s kind of faith always, without fail, expresses itself in action that aligns with what it believes. The fact that God is faithful is rooted in the truth that He acts in benevolence and kindness toward those who love Him. He will fill your life with good things and offer you help. The Lord will be your pillar and rock of strength. He is the reliable One who never changes or wavers. The Lord is always faithful to His covenant commitments in your life.

What God seeks is a man who is after His own heart, a bride that will mirror and reflect His faithful commitment and believe in Him, not with words that often prove meaningless, but with actions of steady, consistent love that transform us from who we were into who He created us to be.

The bride falls in love with the groom. Generally speaking, the groom is the one who proposes marriage and asks for the hand of the one he loves. Jesus has done this for us.

Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV—Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

His invitation is to come and “take His yoke” upon us. To be yoked together is essentially to become one. He wants us to be one with Him, and as we are, we become like Him. This is why faithfulness is both required and rewarded.

We become like Him: steady, reliable, loyal. Not just believing something, but acting upon what we believe.

The Lord is calling His bride back to this place of faithfulness in Him.

Faithfulness is often seen as mundane, boring, and unchanging. The culture discards faithful people and replaces them with those who are always shifting and changing, looking for the next shiny thing. But God is not like this. He is not after a bride with roving eyes, constantly searching for someone or something that is new and better. The Lord desires that we recognize the power of His steadfast love and commit ourselves to it.

In Matthew 25, when we read about the good and “faithful” servant, the word faithful means this:

pistós = faithful, trustworthy, dependable, loyal, one who can be relied upon.

This is not just having faith; it’s being a person God can trust.

He placed something in your hands, and you were steady with it, allowing it to grow. You kept it safe, watered it, and it multiplied in your hands. This is the faithfulness that the Lord is calling the church back to. It is a faith that manifests in our lives and grows, not only in our own hearts and for our own benefit, but also for the increase of the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God hinges on people who seek the Lord and act upon their faith in Him.

They become the faithful ones who expand the Kingdom with their words, actions, thoughts, and reliance upon the Master. If you want to see the increase of God in every area of life, become one who is faithful with the little and joyful over what the Lord has placed in your hands.

God rewards faithfulness because it is an expression of our trust in the power of His name. Our faithfulness reflects our belief that the Lord will be faithful to us.

Notice that the master did NOT reward the steward who did not produce.

Matthew 25:24-28 NKJV—”Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. [25] And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ [26] “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. [27] So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. [28] Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

Let’s take note of the difference between faith and faithfulness.

• The Greek word, pistis → faith (the belief)

• The Greek word, pistós → faithful (the lifestyle that flows from belief)

We must cultivate a lifestyle that flows from the belief in our hearts.

Without a change in direction and life, we are not walking in faith; we are also not being people who are faithful.

Jesus isn’t praising: “Well done, good and believing servant.”

He is praising: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Faith that is not acted upon does not receive the reward.

In the Kingdom of God, increase is connected to faithfulness. Faithfulness in the kingdom produces increase. God is pleased with this. It is in the nature of God to increase Himself in our lives in every single area without fail.

And the church must return to a place of wholehearted belief and faithfulness to the Lord if we are going to experience what He is seeking to pour out in this last generation. We must be people who seek Him with all our hearts and align our lives with the desires of His will. The church must be those who steadfastly hold onto the things of God and consistently allow the Lord to work His character and nature into us. We are to be those who are closely linked to Him and become one with Him. He must be able to trust us as we trust Him.

For revival to break out and for you to experience a breakthrough in your life, you must be faithful.

Your faith must transform you from the inside out and impact every part of your life. It cannot be merely a list of what you believe to be true about the Lord. Faith and faithfulness are qualities of His nature that we must act upon, allowing them to redirect the course of our lives.

How do we return to a place of faithfulness? How do we get back to a point where the Lord is ready to reward us as good and faithful servants?

You and I must repent our way back into faithfulness.

This does not simply mean saying we are sorry; it means changing our minds and then changing our direction. Faithfulness is something you embrace and allow to manifest in your life. Repentance involves changing your mindset about how you have lived and deciding to let Jesus help you transform through the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is why coming to the altar and confessing doesn’t always seem effective, because confession must be more than superficial words. Our confession must stem from a faith that takes action and repents. Our hearts must change direction and begin walking toward the Lord instead of away from Him. Please also understand that Jesus has completed His part of the work and will help you walk in new life, but you must repent. Repentance is a work of the Spirit in our lives that only occurs as we cooperate. You cannot repent if you expect God to do all the work.

God is working to call back His remnant people to a place of faithfulness that He can reward. His desire is to reward, restore, renew, replenish, and refill.

Hear a word from the Lord:

“I am calling my people back to a place of faithfulness—a faithfulness that rests upon me and searches me out—something that establishes your heart and fills your mind. I look for those who will be faithful to me, and my reward is in my hand. Do not let yourself be swayed by what you see or hear, and thus be removed from your place of faithfulness. For those who are faithful to me, I reward. I fill with goodness those who seek me. So return to this place, says the Lord. For in the place of faithfulness, you will find my presence and goodness. You will find the joy of your heart and the pleasure of your salvation in the place of faithfulness to me. For I will be faithful to you. I will not leave you, nor will my soul tire of you or walk in a direction away from you. I have declared that I would be with you, and so I will. I will not leave or forsake my people. I compel you to come. I compel you to seek my face. I compel you to open the door to my Spirit and allow my goodness to wash over your life. The things you seek for are found in this life-giving place of faithfulness to me. Can you not see that it is the goodness of God that leads you to repentance, calling you to come back to this place of faithfulness in my presence? What you need is found in this place, and I seek your good to bestow the love of my heart on you. But only on my faithful ones will it be—those who earnestly seek me and pour out their lives as an offering to me. I seek your heart, says the Lord. Not just your belief, but your heart. In me, the greatest joys of your life will be fulfilled, so return to your place of faithfulness to me and find the longing of your heart.”