The Key to Faithfulness

"You have prayed, and I have answered. The way of wealth is by faithfulness: faithful to My commands, faithful to My word, loving the Lord with a perfect heart, in the fear of the Lord, courageously obeying the Lord unto all pleasing."

The Lord can trust a faithful man with anything. He can trust him with the entire world; He can trust him with galaxies; He can trust him with His bride.

The way of faith is not to admire another and what he has, and then to lust after it. That is greed, in every measure, whether small or great: looking at others and wanting what they have, looking at another man's ten thousand church members and wanting them, looking at another's possessions and wanting them. Be on the watch for seeds of lust and greed, however large or small.

Joseph was a man who could be faithful, faithful when nobody was watching. He was faithful as a slave, as a housekeeper, and as a prisoner who was put in charge of the prison. The remarkable thing is that there was no monetary gain in any of it. What does a slave gain, or a housekeeper, or a man in charge of prisoners? Yet while he was being faithful, God was preparing his reign, the dreams. So however great or good a vision, a dream or a prophecy may be, your part and mine is only with what we have: to be faithful with what we have. The nature of the job is beside the point. God knew that Joseph would be faithful during seven years of plenty, preparing for seven years of famine, to feed the entire world of that day.

God's training and preparation are the complete opposite of the world's. All He requires is faithfulness in the little, faithfulness in that which is another's, and then the Lord gives us that which is our own.

Daniel was a faithful man. They looked for unfaithfulness in Daniel and could not find any, not the least trace of it, and their only resort was to trap him through the law of his God. In his work they found not one thing; imagine that, not one thing. He was faithful.

Enoch was faithful, and God translated him. Enoch could never have translated himself; it was impossible. Our side is faithfulness; our part is faithfulness. God's side, God's part, is His.

When we are obeying in simple things, it may look menial or despised, and we may just be getting by, but we are bringing ourselves closer to what is our own. With Enoch it was translation; with Joseph, rule over the world; with Daniel, rule over kingdoms. Daniel never fought, never went to war; others did, yet this man ruled. David went from a faithful shepherd boy to the greatest king. And Jesus our Lord was faithful. Think of Jesus as a carpenter. He never started the biggest carpentry business in Jerusalem, "International Carpenters"; there were surely bigger carpentry businesses in Jerusalem, making more money than our Lord.

It is not about how much money, friends. We have missed the point if you or I think more money means more faithfulness. Faithful with one talent: "Well done." Faithful with two: "Well done." Faithful with ten: "Well done," not "very, very well done." The same "well done." Here is the thing; can you see it? I hope you can see it before I say it: it is in whatever we currently have, or are doing, that we must be found faithful, whether as a mother, a housekeeper, an entrepreneur, a police officer, the pastor of ten, a government worker or a sportsman. Be faithful.

With the world it is so very different: what I do not have is what matters. "In church I have only ten people; we must grow; go out and bring more; go, go, go." Do good and do well with the ten; love them and enjoy them, and the rest is history. Imagine that God promised you ten children, and when the first is born you want the next one a week later, and so on. No normal parent thinks like that, yet at times this is exactly how we behave: what I do not have, I must have.

In your season of faithfulness, do not look to get rich, do not look to be popular, and do not look to be accepted. Each of us is unique in God's calling on our lives. Joseph, David and Daniel are three examples of faithfulness, each on a different journey: one from slavery, another from keeping sheep, another from captivity, yet all faithful. So we must all be faithful, wherever we are.

These are the scriptures behind this word:

And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and with a perfect heart.

2 Chronicles 19:9 (KJV)

Deal courageously, and the Lord shall be with the good.

2 Chronicles 19:11 (KJV)

O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

Psalm 31:23–24 (KJV)

Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.

Psalm 101:6 (KJV)

All thy commandments are faithful.

Psalm 119:86 (KJV)

A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

Proverbs 28:20 (KJV)

The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.

Proverbs 29:14 (KJV)

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Isaiah 11:5 (KJV)

Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.

Daniel 6:4 (KJV)

I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.

Hosea 2:20 (KJV)

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

Habakkuk 2:4 (KJV)