3 Examples of Faithfulness in the Bible
This month I’ve been focusing on the spiritual fruit of faithfulness and it has really helped me to be more sensitive to the topic of faithfulness and loyalty in the Bible. Even this morning I was finishing up reading in the book of Ezra when the very words “And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness” jumped off the page as I read them in chapter 9 verse 2.
This isn’t the first time that faithfulness has ironically “shown up” in my daily Bible reading this month. I’ve actually been quite surprised by how many times I’ve literally read the actual word faithfulness in scripture. It’s way more than I would have thought. With that being said, there’s countless specific examples of faithfulness in the Bible that I could list out here. But I think there’s a way to simplify things a little—so that it will be easier to understand faithfulness in more practical terms.
So, how can we do that?
First, let’s look at examples of faithfulness in the Bible in terms of categories. Using categories we’ll learn what faithfulness is, why faithfulness is important, and how we can persevere in faithfulness in everyday living.
As I think through the various examples of faithfulness in the Bible, these three come to my mind:
- Faithfulness of God
- Examples of Faithful Servants in the Bible
- The Spiritual Fruit of Faithfulness
What is faithfulness in the Bible?
So what is faithfulness, biblically? And what is a good example of it? Simply put, faithfulness biblically, is best explained by the example of the faithfulness of God. You can’t get away from this one. The faithfulness of God is mentioned all throughout the entire Bible. It’s like your personal invitation to God’s Show and Tell Day!
God Shows Us What Faithfulness Is
We are shown a detailed description of God’s faithfulness through the retelling of Biblical events and personal testimonies. In addition, we can also see examples of God’s faithfulness to us through the fulfillment of prophesies in scripture.
One of my favorite Old Testament accounts about this faithfulness of God, is the story of God promising to bring the exiled Israelites back to Jerusalem—and how He was faithful to His Word (Jeremiah 29:10–14, Ezekiel 36–37, Ezra 1–6, Haggai 1–2, Zechariah 1–14). My favorite New Testament accounts about the faithfulness of God is the story of God sending Jesus to be the Savior of the World (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18–24, Isaiah 9:6–7, Micah 5:1–6). God told us these things would happen—and He was faithful to bring them to fulfillment.
I’m sharing this as just one example of faithfulness in the Bible. but it truly is a BIG example. Craig Denison of First15 points out that, “The faithfulness of God is a foundational aspect of God’s character.” And likewise, God thinks faithfulness is a BIG deal because He not only models it for us—he tells us!
What Scripture Says About Faithfulness
We’re told about the faithfulness of God in actual verses—word for word.
There’s several scriptures that tell of God’s faithfulness. Here are a few of my favorites that describe the qualities of faithfulness.
Deuteronomy 31:8 — “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (ESV)
2 Timothy 2:13 — “If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” (ESV)
Philippians 1:6 — “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (NLT)
Psalm 33:4 — “For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.” (ESV)
The Bible’s “Show and Tell” of the faithfulness of God, gives us a firm foundation for understanding what faithfulness is—the qualities of being faithful—and what it isn’t.
So…why is faithfulness important?
Examples of Faithful Servants in the Bible
First off, we know faithfulness is important because God models it for us. Secondly, in our next category of faithfulness, we can see through some examples of faithful servants in the Bible that faithfulness was a direct factor for a hope and a future.
I’ve mentioned that there’s a lot of examples of faithfulness in the Bible, but these examples help us to see why faithfulness is so important.
Here’s a list a faithful servants in the Bible, how they were faithful and the benefits of being faithful to God.
HANNAH – Without a doubt she trusted that God was faithful even when she was facing barrenness. As a result of her faithfulness, the prophet Samuel was born (1 Samuel 1:2-2:21).
ABIGAIL – She honored her husband even when he was foolish. As a result, David was prevented from unnecessary bloodshed and Abigail was later honored by him as his wife (1 Samuel 25:1-42).
RUTH – She honored her mother in law and was faithful to her, resulting in the lineage of Christ being preserved (The Book of Ruth).
DAVID – He was faithful to God. Even despite his sinful choices, he was still faithful to the Lord and known as a man after God’s heart. God made a covenant with David declaring his family would remain on the throne forever (2 Samuel 7:1-17, Psalm 89:1-4).
ESTHER – She was faithful to God and His leading in her life. Even in her role as queen, she was humble and literally risked her own life to save her people from death (The book of Esther).
NOAH – He was faithful to God’s leading, resulting in humanity being saved physically and a continuation of God’s promise of salvation for all (Genesis 6:11-9:17).
Spiritual Fruit of Faithfulness
As we look at examples of faithfulness in the Bible, we can always be encouraged. Although, personally I’ve been encouraged a lot by the examples of spiritual fruit of faithfulness. Why? Because we all face struggles in this life and often we can be the ones who are faithless. But God is always faithful. I think God included these examples of the spiritual fruit of faithfulness to encourage us that He makes all things new (Isaiah 43:19). And that He truly causes all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
PETER – Even with a warning from Christ, when questioned, Peter still denied Him. This could’ve devastated Peter. Honestly I think it probably did, but it also really humbled Him—so that in turn he could build the church as Christ had called Him. Despite Peter’s denial, he was faithful.
PAUL – Initially Paul (originally Saul) was aggressively persecuting Christians. Then after experiencing God’s calling on his life and receiving forgiveness, Paul was able to walk faithfully in the calling. He became the forefather on the New Testament Gentile Church.
MARY AND JOSEPH – On the surface it looked like Mary and Joseph were unfaithful because Mary was pregnant before they were married. Even in the struggle of facing societal disgrace and shame, both Mary and Joseph remained faithful to what God had called them to do: to be the parents of the Savior of the World.
I use these three examples of the spiritual fruit of faithfulness because apart from God it’s incredibly difficult for us to be faithful—to Him and to others. These examples inspire us to persevere in faithfulness knowing that God is always with us.
Sometimes we can feel like our own failures or being unfaithful prevent us from receiving or extending grace or forgiveness. Maybe you feel this way even today. If so, I want to encourage you with Michael’s story. His story is one of those powerful true stories of faithfulness that I believe on some level, we all can relate to.
Michael’s Story
I came to know Michael and Megan several years ago. Megan was on a prayer team with me and Michael was involved in various ministry outreach initiatives. The day I heard their story, forever changed my perspective on faithfulness.
It all started with Megan sharing that she had been unfaithful to Michael. First it started as coffee with another man and then it led to a physical, intimate relationship. When things first came to light about the unfaithfulness, they decided together that it was best that they separate for a time while pursuing biblical counseling together. The moment everything changed for the future of their marriage, was when Michael realized that he could not withhold forgiveness from Megan when God had extended so much forgiveness and grace to Him.
This my friend is biblical faithfulness, when we recognize what faithfulness truly is and we walk in obedience by living it out. Sometimes it isn’t easy, but with God all things are possible.
3 Ways You Can Grow in Faithfulness
We’ve looked today at three different examples of faithfulness in the Bible—the faithfulness of God, examples of faithful servants in the Bible, and the spiritual fruit of faithfulness. It’s helped us to understand what faithfulness is, why it’s important, and how we can truly benefit from it. So what now?
If we truly want to live out these examples of faithfulness in the Bible for ourselves in everyday living, we can start by focusing our attention on building a stronger faith, by becoming a better wife, and strengthening our relationships with others.
Is there an example of faithfulness in the Bible that has inspired you today?
