FAITHFUL TO GOD

Life Lessons: Faithful to God

Genesis 6:1—8:22

SITUATION: The size of Noah’s ark ensured that it could carry tens of thousands of animals. This dramatic event demonstrated God’s wrath toward sin, but also his mercy toward those who seek him.

OBSERVATION: Faithfulness to God remains vital, even if everyone around us marches to a different drumbeat.

INSPIRATION: “You’ll never catch me doing that,” one might say. “Oh yeah?”

Upright and obedient, Noah stood alone against a carousing, lustful world that drank itself silly. Who would have thought Noah would end up drunk? Abraham was ready to push obedience to the point of sacrificing his only son. Who would imagine he would lie straight-faced?

Look at Lot standing against the filthiness of Sodom. Hardly does he get delivered from the city’s destruction than he falls into incest. Who would have guessed? Bold and courageous David was brave enough to go up against Goliath, the warrior giant of the Philistines; later on he made believe that he was a madman for fear of his enemies.

And consider Elijah. We take him to be a rather brave man, wielding the sword of God’s vengeance against tens of thousands. But the threat of one woman sends him into suicidal despair.

Peter, as part of the inner circle, followed the footsteps of Jesus closer than anyone. He ended up cursing and denying the Lord.

“These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

Just when you think you know yourself, you do or say something that seems so out of character. But it’s not.  The character of our body of sin and death is to sin. Don’t be surprised. Just be careful that you, too, don’t fall. (From Diamonds in the Dust by Joni Eareckson Tada)

APPLICATION: God wants us to stand against sin. Sometimes we must do it all by ourselves, but it is always easier to stand with others. If you are slugging it out alone, pray for a friend—someone with whom you can share the joys and struggles of faith.

EXPLORATION: Faithful to God—1 Corinthians 10:13; 15:58; Galatians 5:1; Ephesians 6:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; Hebrews 2:18; 12:1-3; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:8-9.