It’s official: I’ve joined The Air Fryer Fan Club. My sister purchased me one of the appliances for Christmas. It’s miniature and mint-green and fits perfectly in the corner of my apartment kitchen. I got to work straightaway finding recipes on Pinterest. I’ve cooked all sorts of things in the last two months: garlicky shrimp, chicken satay, sweet potato fries, and a variety of other delicious, crispy vegetables. 

My favorite part? It hardly takes any time at all. For someone who isn’t the most patient person in the world, it’s the ideal cooking companion. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about faithfulness recently. It feels like there’s so much constantly vying for my attention, begging for my allegiance. But I earnestly want to be faithful to Jesus. I spent the month of January reading the Bible cover to cover with a few friends, about forty-ish chapters a day, and I saw similar themes throughout. One of them was how faithless humanity is; the other was how faithful our God is. Over and over, God called His people to be faithful to Him. And over and over, they gave in to worshiping other gods and idols.

We are easily wooed away from Jesus. I want to resist worshiping at another altar, and instead each day become more faithful to my Savior.

But unlike how quickly I can air fry my dinner, I can’t air fry faithfulness. ⁣⁣

⁣⁣Faithfulness is like cooking curry. It has to simmer on the stove in order for the spices to mix and mingle, in order for the coconut milk to thicken and froth, in order for the chicken and vegetables to steep in the spicy liquid. It’s long and slow.

Faithfulness is like compound interest. It starts slowly. You put a few dollars away each month, over and over, and decades later, you realize how much wealth you actually accrued. ⁣⁣

⁣⁣Faithfulness is like a garden. You plant seeds and add water, tilling the soil and praying something is happening underground. You can’t see how the roots are forming, how they’re plunging their spindling arms into the depth below, how they’re forming something solid and secure. You don’t see what’s forming in the dark — until one day a tiny shoot sprouts from the ground and grows slowly into something beautiful. ⁣⁣

⁣⁣Faithfulness isn’t flashy or splashy or dazzling. It’s perseverance and resilience and showing up day after day. It rarely feels like anything special, except that over time it amounts to something spectacular. ⁣⁣

Faithfulness doesn’t form overnight. It doesn’t catch a big break. It’s a few small decisions every single day. Over time, it becomes a rhythm. It becomes the way you live. ⁣⁣

What we do each day is who we become. ⁣⁣What we give our attention to is what or who we’ll ultimately worship. 

This idea of faithfulness isn’t meant to breed legalism or shame; it’s the opposite. It’s God pouring His grace onto every single one of us. 

I try each morning to spend time alone with Jesus. Some days, I sleep through my alarm. On those days, there is grace. Other days, I wake up early and hear God’s voice speaking to me in the quiet. On those days, there is grace. Other days, I come to my chair, exhausted and weary with nothing at all. On those days, there is grace.

When we practice habits that help us know Jesus better, it’s not about becoming an expert in those habits. It’s about knowing Jesus more intimately, loving Him more intensely, and following Him more closely. 

My spiritual director said recently, “Jesus has made a covenant with us, fully knowing that He is the strong one.” 

In this relationship of ours, Jesus is the strong one. He is the faithful one. His faithfulness is and always will be an overflow of grace.

Here’s to choosing faithfulness: the slow, steady, consistent, daily living that leads us closer to Jesus. 

I’ll leave the speed to my air fryer.

 

Listen to Aliza’s words below or wherever you stream pods.

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