Just Be F….
What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word “faithful”? A person? A product? A pet? The sunrise or sunset? Rain in Washington?
Why is it we remember so little about the hand-picked tribal leaders of Israel: Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, or Geuel and remember so much about Joshua and Caleb? In a nutshell, the first ten were faithless and the last two were faithful.
Faithfulness is an essential part of human existence and well-being and yet, it is such a rare commodity. We live in a world of fine print agreements, sworn oaths, signed contracts, product warranties, conditional promises, and lawsuits all designed to ensure a level of trustworthiness. Solomon said, "Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man?" (Prov. 20:6)
What does it mean to be faithful? It simply means to keep your word, to be dependable, trustworthy, a promise keeper, someone who can be counted on. With God, it is a commitment to follow Him all the way to the finish line.
But why should we be faithful? God provides two basic reasons:
God epitomizes faithfulness. Moses said, “Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments” (Deut. 7:9). God is a promise-keeper. He never falters or fails to keep His word.
God is faithful to preserve you to the end (1 Thess. 5:24, “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” What “to pass”? See v. 23: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”)
God is faithful to protect you in times of trouble (2 Thess. 3:3, "But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one"; 1 Cor. 10:13, "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” See also 1 Pet. 4:19; Ps. 119:75; Lam. 3:22–23; Heb. 2:17–18).
God is faithful to pardon you from your sins (1 John 1:7, 9).
God expects His followers to be faithful. The Hebrews writer said, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23), and Paul noted, “In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy” (1 Cor. 4:2).
We count on pharmacists to faithfully fill our prescriptions correctly, depend upon our pilots to fly and land the plane safely, and count on restaurant cooks to serve and prepare food properly. Is there anything more disappointing than unfaithfulness? (Prov. 25:19, “Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble.”)
We should want to be counted with the likes of Timothy, Tychicus, Epaphras, Onesimus, Silvanus, and Gaius who were all specifically praised for being faithful (1 Cor. 4:17; Eph. 6:21; Col. 1:7; 4:9; 1 Pet. 5:12; 3 John 1).
Do you and I apply the same standard of faithfulness to our Christian life that we expect in other areas of our life? Would you be satisfied if your vehicle only started once every three times or your bank misplaced some of your money every month? Would your boss be fine with it if you didn’t show up for work once a week or your mortgage provider allowed you to make ten out of twelve payments a year?
The challenge remains: “be faithful unto death” (Rev. 2:10). The good news is faithfulness is the product of the ministry and power of the Holy Spirit in us (Gal. 5:22), yet “if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).
The Lord is so worthy of our faithfulness and others need the blessing of our faithfulness.
Pastor Jeff