Wholly Faithful

In this episode of Wifey Wednesdays, Emily returns after a brief break to explore what it truly means to be wholly faithful. Faithfulness is not about perfection—it’s about devotion, trust, and a continual pursuit of God’s will. Through biblical truth and personal reflection, this episode encourages wives (and all Christians) to remain steadfast, even in imperfection, knowing that God’s perfect faithfulness sustains us.

Faithfulness is a daily decision to trust, follow, and remain devoted to God—no matter the circumstances. The journey may be hard, but the destination is worth it: eternity with Jesus.

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Creators and Guests

Host

Emily Hatfield

Author, Podcaster, Ladies Speaker

What is Wifey Wednesdays?

Wifey Wednesdays: A show for women that focuses on the Titus 2 principle: learning to love our husband and our children, and being the keepers at home that God intends for us to be. Wifey Wednesdays, hosted by Emily Hatfield, is released every Wednesday.

Hello and welcome to Wifey Wednesdays, a podcast for women who are seeking to be the best wives they can be. I’m your host, Emily Hatfield, and this is the show where the plan is always to do things God’s way, especially our marriages.

I am sorry that it has been a couple of weeks without a new episode — I was traveling for a speaking engagement, and then we had a death in the family, and that’s just how life is sometimes — the chaos wins over the scheduled things, and so I’m sorry to have missed a couple of weeks, but I’m glad to be back this time to discuss what it means to be wholly faithful.

Faithfulness is a beautiful concept. If you know me, you know that I am not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. And while I may not know you - and I definitely don’t know you as well as you know you - I can say with confidence that you, too, are imperfect. Thankfully, graciously, God has not called us to be perfect people - He has called us to faithfulness.

Faithfulness is, according to the Greek definition, a term that means devoted, trustworthy, trusting, and/or convinced. To be someone who is faithful is to be someone who believes or trusts in what God has said — is convinced of the truth of His message, and then is devoted to following. A faithful person is trustworthy, not doing things from an impure heart or to gain some advantage. A faithful person follows because they trust.

This is why I think faithfulness is so beautiful. It doesn’t demand perfection. Instead, we get to follow and trust in the Perfect One - Jesus. He, in His perfection, became a perfect sacrifice for us and, when we’re washed in His blood, our sins are atoned for. We can follow God and receive His promises even though we’re imperfect, because we trust that He will make good on His word — we trust that He accepts Jesus’ perfect sacrifice in our place. God’s holiness DOES demand perfection — it’s just that He accepted that perfection in Jesus, and now we get to live in freedom with grace, following His beautiful plan with the greatest faithfulness we can, confessing when wrong and seeking forgiveness, knowing and trusting that He is faithful and just to forgive.

So I’m reminded of Romans 6. What shall we say? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!

Just because we receive grace doesn’t mean we TRY to sin or that we seek to sin so that we can receive more grace. That’s not being faithful. A faithful servant is one who follows, who trusts the plan, who is devoted to the Word and its instruction.

Faithful servants, then, are workers. They are obedient servants. They aren’t lazy, sitting back and banking on grace while ignoring the commands of the One we claim to follow. We are doers of the word, not hearers only. When Jesus told parables, He often spoke of good and faithful servants, those who did the work that the Master left them to do, diligently and faithfully, and were then rewarded. Not because they were perfect, but because they did the things the Master said and they trusted His promises would be true when they did.

God’s goodness allows us to be faithful instead of perfect, and His goodness should motivate us toward greater faithfulness. When I see the beauty and grace and mercy of my Lord — I want to stay close to Him. I want to keep doing what He says. When I look into how just He is — how He had to make Jesus the object of wrath in order for sinful me to be saved — I want to be devoted to Him and Him alone.

As much as I want to be, I’m still not perfect. I still don’t follow perfectly. But, I keep trying to fail forward. I struggle with sin, but when I give in I try to reorient my heart and seek God’s mercy and forgiveness. I don’t let sin set up shop. I keep trying to rid it from the recesses and corners and closets and cabinets of my heart instead of welcoming it in and making it my pet.

I think that’s faithfulness. Continuing to show up to the work God has called us to, seeking forgiveness when we fail, and actively ridding our hearts of the influence Satan tries to use to lure us back into our old ways.

Being wholly faithful, then, is to be oriented toward Christ - always. Following closely to Him, always. Seeking His word on any subject, following what He says no matter how I feel, and making sure that what I do is founded on His plan and not my own understanding. In all my ways, I am seeking to acknowledge Him instead of leaning on my own feelings and thoughts.

God is the perfect picture of what it means to be wholly faithful. He promised Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob that He would be with them and their descendants and that He would save them. He led them and provided for them and kept them, even when they rejected Him. He gave them a king, then another king — and promised that king, David, that He would never lack a man on the throne…ultimately pointing to Jesus and His eternal reign. God kept His promise. Even though it meant punishing while providing a way of escape, disciplining while retaining a remnant…God was faithful to each and every promise He ever made. Even while His people, His bride, committed spiritual adultery, God never wavered. God stayed true to His word, perfectly. He has always been faithful to us. He has never left us or forsaken us. He is faithful, and He is asking for us to return our loyalty and devotion to Him as a perfect Creator and Savior.

I am not going to be perfect for all of my days as a Christian, but I am going to strive to be wholly faithful — constantly pointing myself toward God and His word, seeking to do His will and not my own. I am going to seek Him with my whole heart, do the things He says, and seek forgiveness when needed (and that will be often, and that will be ok because He is perfectly faithful and completely gracious and generous in His mercy toward us).

To the Christians in Smyrna in the first century, who were facing severe persecution, Jesus said: be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life.

This wasn’t just, be faithful until you die — though, that’s included. The emphasis seems to be, be faithful even if it means you die — and He will be faithful to you. He will give you the crown of life. Your faithfulness — the end of that road leads to Jesus. No matter how hard it is to follow some days. No matter how many shiny things pop up and try to distract. No matter how uncomfortable life in this fallen world gets. No matter how much rejection or persecution or heartache we face because we follow — our faithfulness will lead to an eternal home with Jesus…but only if we remain only. Only if we keep going…keep running toward Him. But, as the One who is perfectly faithful, He promises that we will get to rest from our labors and be with Him forever.

That’s why we’re wholly faithful. That’s why we keep going. That’s why we’re letting Him lead us; that’s why we’re devoted to Him and following Him and trusting His plan. Because the end of this faithfulness is the arms of Jesus. That’s why I’ll keep going. That’s why I’m going to be faithful. The end will be worth it.

I can’t wait for that day!