I’ll admit it. I’m the world’s worst. If I’m following someone on a social media site and they incessantly post selfies, I’ll unashamedly unfollow them. I know. It seems really insensitive of me to do this, but bear with me. This example of how freely I unfollow someone because of something so silly clearly expresses the mentality most of our generation may have when things do not go the way we plan, or when our surroundings are not ideal.

It is easier said than done for us to “stick it out” and endure when things don’t turn out how we expected. When we volunteer our time at the church and are placed in an area of service that does not serve us, we find it hard to be faithful. When life gets busy and our daily time for God grows less and less, our relationship with Him fades. When something arises we do not enjoy or is not how we prefer something should be, we are quick to drop it and walk away; moving on to the next exciting thing.

When we hit a plateau or strange season in life, we easily get discouraged and let go of the things we need most. We have to realize God has not called us to a life of comfort and ease—He has called us to faithfulness. Faithfulness is so much more than continuing to follow that person who posts countless selfies. Faithfulness, like most biblical principles, is something that permeates throughout our lifestyle. When things become inconvenient or even downright painful, faithfulness presses on.

There are examples of this littered throughout the scriptures. For instance, there are the three Hebrew boys: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah—or commonly known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were set over certain affairs in King Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom but refused to obey his command to worship the idol he set up. It surely wasn’t the popular thing to do, especially if they had a position in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom, yet they remained faithful to God in the face of persecution. Being fully aware of His ability to save them, but not knowing if He would, they continued.

Then what about Daniel in the den of lions? Faithfulness definitely wasn’t a comfortable task there either. But when he was told not to pray to any god or man other than King Darius for thirty days, Daniel didn’t back up. Scripture says he went to his house, and with the windows opened, continued to pray to Almighty God three times a day just as he had always done. You see, Daniel knew the consequences but never changed who he was or what he was doing. He was faithful to God because he knew just how faithful His God was. Of course, when he was thrown into the den with the hungry lions, God proved Himself faithful and protected Daniel. God did not neglect him but rewarded his faithfulness.

And of course there’s Abraham, the father of the faithful. He was summoned by God to leave Ur and be obedient to God’s commands. Not knowing what would come of this, Abraham decided to obey. I cannot imagine it would be easy to leave behind what he had always known, but Abraham followed and God gave him a promise. This promise of a son did not make much sense to Abraham or Sarah, both being in their old age, but they held to God’s promise. Abraham remained faithful even to the point of obedience when God asked him to sacrifice his only son. Abraham was still faithful when it did not make sense, when it hurt, and when it seemed like losing the very promise for which he had waited.

I don’t know if you noticed it or not, but each of these instances displayed man’s honorary faithfulness to God, and more importantly, God’s constant faithfulness to man. He is and always will be more faithful than humanity. It is because of God we even know what faithfulness looks like. Without His faithfulness, faithfulness would not exist. Since He is faithful, we know how to be faithful in return. He was faithful to the Israelites despite the many times they turned away from Him and worshipped false gods. II Timothy 2:13 tells us, “If we are faithless, He is still faithful.” However, we were made in His image and must continue to be more and more like Him, reflecting His perfect faithfulness.

Let us look to God for the true example of faithfulness and strive to be faithful in all things. He has called us to be faithful to more than just our relationship with Him. Faithfulness is all-encompassing. In daily life, it is nothing more than consistency. Let us be steadfast in our devotions to God, our service in the church, our love for the people we see every day, whether we know them or not. Let us be faithful in our servanthood, regardless who gets the recognition and reward. Let’s work diligently at being constant and reliable in all things to the glory of the only faithful God.

Let it be said of our generation that we were faithful, consistent, never-wavering, effectual, and fervent in our dedication to God and advancing His kingdom.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
(1Pe 5:6-10, KJV)

Sarah is the Hyphen contributor for InsideOut and a recent graduate of Urshan College. She is now happily married to Jordan Hudspeth with whom she serves the Hyphen group at The Life Center in Saint Petersburg, Florida. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.