God Wants Us to be Faithful

“God Wants Us to be Faithful”
Pastor Kent Munsey
February 23, 2020

Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. They would not be like their ancestors— a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.

• Psalm 78:7-8, NIV

Leaders like Moses, always aware of their own limitations, sought out the presence of God so they could embody the vision God had for them and the people they were leading. We too need God’s presence, direction, and word. Many have heard someone say that God never spoke to them. But, God continues to speak to us through his word, the Bible. 

The subject of faithfulness comes up in the book of Jonah. God asks him to go to Nineveh, but he hides and takes a ship in the opposite direction. Some continue to doubt that God speaks to people, but he does throughout the Bible. And, as in the case of Jonah, we may not like what God has to say.

1. God will often ask you to do things you don’t want to do. 

God may ask us to forgive people who have hurt us, even those we don’t like. We may not want to tithe or wait to have sex until we are married, but these are all things that God has asked us to do.  

The Assyrians who Jonah was supposed to talk to about God were known for their very brutal behavior toward other communities. It’s possible that Jonah didn’t think they deserved forgiveness. So he went from running away from God to running toward him and, eventually, to running with God and aligning his life in obedience with God’s purposes. 

The distance between God’s command and our obedience marks our level of spiritual maturity. 

2. We can always find a boat going in the wrong direction.

Jonah began to drift away from what God was asking. But, even when we are faithless, God is faithful. Deuteronomy 7:9 explains that “God is looking for the faithful.” Psalm 36 says, “God’s faithfulness reaches to the skies.” Psalm 40 speaks of God’s faithfulness and salvation. And Lamentations 3:23 declares that “his mercies are new every morning” and that his faithfulness is great. 

Faithfulness is in the DNA of everyone who is born again. When we first believed and decided to follow God, he touched our spirit and his righteousness was imputed to us. He just gives it to us, and we have the joy of a loving God living in us. He enables us to love people we would not ordinarily love. God is patient and faithful with us, just like he was with Jonah. There is no place too far that we can run from him. His spirit touches our spirit. 

3. God will go to extremes for you.

Just like he did with Jonah, God will stop at nothing when he is chasing after us--even if that means sending a storm and a whale to reroute us in the right direction. 

God did not need to use Jonah to reach the people of Nineveh, but in doing so, it allowed Jonah to see so much more of God inside himself. God remains faithful even when we are unfaithful. 

 Reflection/Discussion Questions:

1. Does it scare you when God asks you to do something you don’t want to do? 

2. Have you ever run away from something that God asked you to do? What happened?

3. How can you choose today to be faithful to what God has called you to do in this season?

4. Write down some examples of God asking people to do things; both in the Bible and in your life.