God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. – 1 Corinthians 1:9
Recently I started reading a fiction book by a well-known author. Although the plot was intriguing, I soon discovered that the descriptive details that set the scene were far from spiritually edifying, so I had to decide whether or not I would finish the book. Did I want to crowd out priceless fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ with a made-up story of little value? As I weighed my desire to find out what happened in the story against the risk of clouding my relationship with the Lord, the choice was not terribly difficult!
If we desire to have the Lord by our side when we need Him—which is each and every day—then we need to stay by His side. He is faithful to check our hearts when something is displeasing to Him, and our job is to listen and obey those checks. When the Lord tells us not to listen to something, not to watch something, or not to read something, He certainly has our best interests in mind. Those things will draw us away from Him, allow doubt to enter our hearts, and weaken our spiritual walk. But when we mind the checks in our spirit that the Lord sends, we abide close to Him.
A close walk with God brings the assurance that He will not fail us in our time of need. Because His love prompted Him to send His only Son, precious beyond mortal comprehension, we know that we are safe as long as we retain our right relationship with Him. God’s holy nature is the essence of truth; He cannot lie. He is bound by His own Word to keep His promises. As His children, it is our privilege to hold Him to them, claiming them for our own.
The three beautiful words from our focus verse, “God is faithful,” are enough to fill a believer’s heart with gratitude. What comfort they bring! And when we have pure fellowship with Him, there will be no doubt that these words are true.