{"id":174,"date":"2025-01-27T02:33:49","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T02:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/?p=174"},"modified":"2025-02-16T19:54:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T19:54:15","slug":"reliability-of-god-relative-to-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/2025\/01\/27\/reliability-of-god-relative-to-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Reliability of God Relative to Us"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>God is reliable and so trustworthy, but I am not reliable or trustworthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Acknowledging our own shortcomings in reliability or trustworthiness can be a deeply humbling realization, but it\u2019s also an opportunity to lean more fully on God\u2019s grace and strength. Scripture provides encouragement and guidance for situations where we feel inadequate or unworthy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. God\u2019s Reliability Covers Our Weakness<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Scripture<\/strong>:<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>&#8220;If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself&#8221;<\/em> (2 Timothy 2:13).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>&#8220;Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever&#8221;<\/em> (Hebrews 13:8).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Encouragement<\/strong>:<br>God\u2019s reliability and trustworthiness are unchanging. Even when we fall short, His faithfulness remains steadfast. You don\u2019t have to rely solely on your own strength\u2014He fills the gaps where we fall short.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. God Transforms Us<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Scripture<\/strong>:<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>&#8220;And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh&#8221;<\/em> (Ezekiel 36:26).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>&#8220;For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure&#8221;<\/em> (Philippians 2:13).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Encouragement<\/strong>:<br>God doesn\u2019t just leave us in our weaknesses; He works to transform us into people who reflect His character. When we surrender our flaws to Him, He shapes us into someone more trustworthy and reliable over time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Dependence on Grace, Not Perfection<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Scripture<\/strong>:<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>&#8220;But He said to me, \u2018My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.\u2019 Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ\u2019s power may rest on me&#8221;<\/em> (2 Corinthians 12:9).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>&#8220;The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me&#8221;<\/em> (Psalm 28:7).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Encouragement<\/strong>:<br>God\u2019s grace is the foundation of our relationship with Him. He doesn\u2019t demand perfection but invites us to rely on Him in our weaknesses. Trustworthiness in our lives grows when we align ourselves with His Word and Spirit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. Steps Toward Growing Trustworthiness<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Scripture<\/strong>:<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>&#8220;Whoever is faithful with very little is also faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little is also dishonest with much&#8221;<\/em> (Luke 16:10).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>&#8220;The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control&#8221;<\/em> (Galatians 5:22-23).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Encouragement<\/strong>:<br>Start small. By being faithful in small commitments, we learn to build trustworthiness. Ask God to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in your life, especially faithfulness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>5. God\u2019s Love is Greater Than Our Failures<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Scripture<\/strong>:<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>&#8220;For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us&#8221;<\/em> (Psalm 103:11-12).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>&#8220;There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus&#8221;<\/em> (Romans 8:1).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Encouragement<\/strong>:<br>Your trustworthiness\u2014or lack thereof\u2014does not define your worth to God. His love and grace are far greater than your failures. When you bring your shortcomings to Him, He forgives and renews you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Practical Steps for Growth<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Admit Your Need for Help<\/strong>: Confess your struggles with reliability to God and ask for His guidance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stay Close to God\u2019s Word<\/strong>: Scripture provides wisdom and principles for faithful living.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rely on God\u2019s Strength<\/strong>: Pray for His Spirit to empower you to be dependable and faithful in your relationships and commitments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Seek Accountability<\/strong>: Surround yourself with believers who encourage you to grow in integrity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Your recognition of God\u2019s trustworthiness compared to your own shortcomings is a sign of humility and dependence on Him. Trust that He is working in you and through you, even as you grow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>God is reliable and so trustworthy, but I am not reliable or trustworthy. Acknowledging our own shortcomings in reliability or trustworthiness can be a deeply humbling realization, but it\u2019s also an opportunity to lean more fully on God\u2019s grace and strength. Scripture provides encouragement and guidance for situations where we feel inadequate or unworthy: 1. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-reliability"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":373,"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions\/373"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}