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Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness and Gentleness
Finding Hope Family Support Groups
Written By
Finding Hope Team
Faithfulness and Gentleness
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” Galatians 5:22-26
Faithfulness
Faith is a complete belief and confidence in God and all of His promises. When we live by faith, we trust God’s goodness and plan for our lives as well as our loved ones.
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is a confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Faithfulness is a total commitment to God that goes far beyond human understanding. We must remember that God sees the whole picture and knows what the future holds for us, and that we do not. We only see small glimpses of things right in front of us, so we must have faith in God during this journey. With that faith, we show others our faithfulness.
As we love someone with a substance use disorder, we can show the fruit of the Spirit of faithfulness by surrendering and praying for them daily, as well as by showing love with no judgment.
Gentleness
Gentleness is the quality or characteristic of being kind, tender, compassionate, and considerate. To be gentle means to show love and to care for others in the ways you act and speak. When we love someone who abuses substances, it can sometimes be easy to forget to approach them with gentleness.
- You can show gentleness and compassion toward your loved one when you realize their substance abuse is a disease, a battle they must fight every single day. We must show compassion by not yelling at them about their addiction.
- Remember to pause, pray, and respond. By pausing and praying, you can respond intentionally with gentleness rather than reacting instinctively in anger.
- We need to remember the power our words hold. “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt.” This old saying is false! Words can hurt more than we know, so remember this saying instead: “When you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything.”
- Gentleness also means setting boundaries to protect your well-being and not approaching your loved one out of anger and boldness.
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1
