Faithfulness
When May hits, Sarah and I find ourselves absolutely wiped out. Life, work, church, a dog… I feel like I’m forgetting something… oh yeah, raising our kids. It’s like running a marathon where every step is good, every step matters, but every step also drains you. You’re further down the road, but something’s been poured out. Even elite ultra-runners eventually hit a wall where they just can’t keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Then summer hits.
The first few days of summer feel like stepping into a completely different world. We’re no longer waking up before sunrise, no longer sprinting from school to after-school activities to homework to that never-ending evening routine. No more late night cramming in extra work, replying to emails, prepping for Bible study, and collapsing into bed just so we can do it all again the next day. Suddenly, those days are gone.
For a few brief moments, summer feels like slower mornings, no strict schedule, no hustle.
But then… late July arrives.
And wouldn’t you know it, Sarah and I find ourselves exhausted again. But this time? We’re exhausted from the lack of rhythms and schedules. Yes, I have more time for quiet reading and prayer in the morning, more time to work out, more time to be present with my kids, but also… my kids aren’t at school. My kids (it turns out) need help with seemingly everything. They’ve stopped going to bed at a reasonable time. Neighborhood kids show up at 9pm asking if Foster and Keating can come play. My kids (shockingly) still need food, water, and attention. Oh, and I still have a job.
By the end of summer, all I want is for school to start again. I find myself thinking: Please. Just give me a new rhythm. Any different rhythm.
And then the school year hits, and the cycle starts all over again.
Here’s what I’ve realized: even when I know the season I’m in, even when I know the plan, the schedule, the expectations, I’m still surprised when the rhythm wears me down. I still find myself longing for something different. I feel faithfulness waining.
Maybe you know that feeling.
Maybe you’re in a pattern that used to fit—but now it doesn’t. Maybe you’re ready for change. Maybe what once felt right, now feels like it’s draining you.
This past Sunday, we talked about the faithfulness of God, and the faithfulness of God grows in us. Faithfulness is fruit. In Scripture, that word faith can also be translated as steady, stable, firm, reliable.
And that’s exactly what we need. Not just in crises. Not just at the end of summer or school years when we’re hanging on by a thread. We need steady footing every ordinary day. We need to be grounded in God through faith, stabilized by the life of Jesus, and dependent on the power and comfort of the Spirit. You don’t drop an anchor after the storm has destroyed you, you need it before the storm rolls in.
Faithfulness isn’t what gets you through the storm. Faithfulness is what anchors you long before the storm arrives.
There’s this great story in Exodus. The Israelites have just escaped Egypt, and they’re wandering toward the Promised Land when out of nowhere they’re ambushed by the Amalekites. Now, the Amalekites weren’t noble warriors. They attacked from behind, targeting the stragglers—the slow, the elderly, the weak and vulnerable. It was a cheap shot.
These freed slaves didn’t stand a chance.
Moses climbed a hill overlooking the battle and raised his hands. As long as his hands were raised, the Israelites held their ground. But when Moses grew tired—when the weight of the moment caught up to him—his arms dropped, and Israel faltered.
That’s when his friends stepped in. Aaron and Hur stood beside Moses and held up his arms when he couldn’t anymore. And do you know what the Bible calls that moment? It uses the same Hebrew word we translate as faithfulness.
Sometimes faithfulness looks like standing strong.
And sometimes, it looks like letting someone else hold you up.
Faithfulness keeps you strong in the midst of the battle and steady in the midst of the storm.
We need people to remind us of who God has been, who God is now, and where God is taking us. We need people to steady us when we’re tired. That’s part of faithfulness too.
So as summer winds down and maybe this season, this heat, this lack of schedule is wearing you thin, I hope you’ll find your footing in God. I hope you’ll look back on what God’s done, look forward to what God is doing, and live faithfully here and now in that tension between past and future.
It takes a kind of steady awareness of the story of God: knowing the past, having hope for the future, and letting both shape your life today.
Faithfulness is born out of obedience.
Head. Heart. Life.
Tim Mackie puts it this way:
“Obedience is about living in the present as if the future has already arrived. Not blind faith. You’re doing it because you can point back to the evidence of the risen Jesus, to the testimony of the risen Jesus. Faith is not this blind acquiescence to tradition. The Gospel makes claims about what kind of world we’re living in, about events that took place that have cosmic significance. And you can choose to ignore those claims, but I think you’d be foolish to do that. You can choose to probe and poke and discern if those claims are really true. And if you discern that they are reasonable claims, that they are truthful claims, then it changes everything.”
As these last weeks of summer fade and the school year looms, I hope the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus have changed everything for you—not just your past, not just your future, but your present. Right here. Right now.
Be present in your life, no matter your circumstance.
Find steady footing in Jesus.
Don’t wish away these moments.
Live them fully.
Live them faithfully.
We’re wrapping up our summer series on cultivating a life that bears the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
And for the next two Sundays, our friend (and frequent fill in) Branden Campbell will be leading us, covering gentleness and self-control. You’re not going to want to miss it. We have several other things coming up that I hope you will check out below.
Here’s what else is happening at The Chapel:
Summer Bible Reading Plan
We are almost finished reading through Luke and Acts this summer. Hopefully you’ve been checking out the podcast Sarah and I are offering to accompany your reading. We also are a bit unclear about the launch date of our fall Bible Studies due to the window renovation at The Chapel. So, we are excited to share that we’ll provide another reading plan after the Acts on finishes up on August 8th that will run through the rest of August and beginning of September. We’ll give you more details soon about this reading plan that will also correlate with Sunday sermons and podcast teachings from Sarah and me. Stay tuned for that!
June 2–August 8 — Pick up a physical bookmark or click here for the digital version.
You can find the podcasts on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you stream.
Egypt 2026 Trip
It is incredibly difficult to read the scriptures without seeing references to Egypt, Jordan, and the journey towards the Promise Land. Sarah and I are excited to invite you to join us and our family on an incredible trip to Egypt. We’ll see all the traditional sites, learn more about the world the Hebrew people lived in and journeyed through and the scriptures will come alive as we experience the world of Egypt. Join us for an unforgettable trip to Egypt and if you can, stick around for the extension to Jordan which will include the Dead Sea, Petra, and Mount Nebo (where Moses could see the Promised Land across the Jordan River).
March 10–20, 2026 (Jordan Extension: March 21–24)
Visit iconic sites, explore the lands of Scripture, and share the experience with friends or family.
We’ll have an informational meeting after worship on Sunday, August 17th if you want to know more.
Click here for more info and to register
When registering:
Host ID: 60537
Host Name: Andrew Beard
Upcoming Fall Dates
-Back to School Sunday. On Sunday, August 10th, we will pray for our students heading back to school. We will also provide bibles for any of those who weren’t here last year when we did this and need/want a Bible. Chapel Kids and Chapel Middle School Ministry will still meet that Sunday morning after we bless them at the top of the service.
-Egypt Informational Meeting. On Sunday, August 17th, we will meet briefly after worship for a quick informational meeting to let you know more about our trip. If you haven’t signed up yet, but you have some interest, this meeting is for you.
-New Communities Launch. On Sunday, September 7th, we will launch new Chapel Communities. If you would like to connect with other people in a similar season of life, join us that Sunday following the 10:00am Service. This is a non-committal informational meeting. If you are happy in your community this meeting is not for you. Please let us know if you plan to attend by clicking this link.
-Baptism and Bonfire. On Sunday, September 28th we are going to have Baptism and Bonfire. If you are interested in or have been thinking about being baptized, please click the link for more information and to attend a meeting on Sunday, September 21st right after our 10:00am service.
-Mission and Outreach Sunday. On Sunday, October 19th, join us after church for an opportunity to connect with others and to see how we can meet the needs of our church outreach partners. We’ll have many of our partners in attendance so it is a great time to visit with people who call The Chapel home and find out how you can be a part of proclaiming the Kingdom with both our words and actions.
Worship Online
As always, if you are busy, hosting family, out of town, under the weather, or the crowds or heat are too much, we get it. Worship with us online on our website or on our Facebook or listen to the sermon podcasts on Spotify, Apple or wherever you stream.
I hope you will join us for worship this Sunday at 10am and hear from Branden about Gentleness. I hope you will remember the faithfulness of God and let that ground you in the midst of whatever season you find yourself in.
Blessings,
Andrew