2 Timothy 2:1 | Psalm 33:4 | 1 Corinthians 1:9
Introduction:
Faithfulness is being reliable, keeping to your words, vows and promises. The faithfulness of God means God is unchanging in His nature, true to His Word, His people and will keep His promises forever. God is worthy of eternal trust no matter how unlikely His promises might be. Our faithfulness to God means trusting in Him and loving Him through all circumstances.
We live in a broken world, and we may have gone through painful experiences that cause us to lose our trust in others.
For this reason, faithfulness, a fruit of the Spirit, can be a challenging trait to possess.
Faithfulness comes from a place of trust and loyalty. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is a confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
As a Christian, it is important to be faithful to God. It is one thing to simply believe in Him, but another to be faithful to Him. When we are truly faithful to God, this shapes the way we live. For example, we are able to be loyal in our relationships here on Earth and truly love others.
Faithfulness requires us to submit our ways to God. It comes from a place of realizing that we are in need of a Saviour and that He is in control of our lives.
Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” We are to be faithful to God, because He is faithful to us.
In the Bible, the story of Abraham demonstrates the importance of faithfulness. Abraham and his wife Sarah struggled to trust God but learned the value of faithfulness when they submitted to Him.
For example, Abraham and Sarah waited many years for God to fulfil His promise of giving them a son. Because of her lack of faith, Sarah insisted upon Hagar, her maid, giving birth to her son. This resulted in pain and conflict. However, when Abraham and Sarah put their faith in God, Sarah was able to give birth to Isaac despite being past childbearing age.
Ultimately, the story of Abraham shows how God blesses those who are faithful and trust in His plans.
Conclusion:
Regardless of our failures, we can be assured that God will not forget us. Even though more and more people will turn away from God as we approach the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to be faithful, knowing that we can make a difference in this world. We are to trust God to fulfil His promises. Just like, when God called Abraham, He made an unconditional promise that a great nation would come from his seed and that they had a title deed to a large parcel of land.
Finally, when we falter in our walk with God, we should draw strength from God’s faithfulness to us.
Discussion:
- Describe Faithfulness in your own words (a) God’s Faithfulness – Psalm 36:5 | Lamentations 3:22-23 (b) Our Faithfulness – 1 Samuel 12:24 | Hebrews 10:23 | Joshua 24:15
- How do we grow in faithfulness?
- What ways can we show our faithfulness to God?
- When we face difficult challenges in our lives, what specific steps can we take to keep from becoming discouraged and distorted in our thinking?
- How do we stay faithful to God while waiting for His promises to be fulfilled?
- Abraham did not allow his faith to wane, he held unto the promise of God. What can we do, if it seems the promise is delayed.
Prayer.
