"Lord, give me firmness without hardness, steadfastness without dogmatism, love without weakness."Jim Eliot, martyr missionary to the Auca Indians
Although I grew up in a church and had a definite born again experience at a Young Life Camp when I was a sophomore in High School, I knew little of the quality of steadfastness in my first 19-20 years. Daniel Webster in his 1828 Dictionary, which was greatly influenced by his knowledge of God and knowledge of Scripture, defined the adjective "steadfast" this way, “..established..constant, firm; resolute; not fickle or wavering.” Similar concepts in Scripture would be that of enduring, holding fast, persevering or perhaps overcoming.
I’ve been pondering this quality or characteristic of steadfastness often of late. What an impact the church/people of God would have in our cities and nations if we were to all walk in steadfastness! Imagine if all the members of Christ’s church in your region were to:
- Be steadfast in gathering to worship with God’s people regardless of busyness, weariness, laziness, offenses, etc., like David that I read about this morning in Psalm 26:12b, “In the congregations I shall bless the Lord.” (see also vs. 6b, 7 & 8)
- Be steadfast in prayer – constantly storming the gates of heaven until we see His kingdom come and His will done in our cities, regions and beyond.
- Be steadfast in their work, diligent, not cutting corners, finishing tasks and gladly doing the hard things.
- Be steadfast in daily scripture meditation, treasuring God’s word in our hearts, holding fast to His truth, seeking His heart and mind.
- Be steadfast in building our marriages, never taking them for granted, pursuing oneness with our spouses.
- Be steadfast in focused attention on each of our children, gladly laying aside our hobbies and cell phones to sow into their hearts and spirits.
- Be steadfast at home in the evenings, diligently preparing for the next day, building ourselves up on our most holy faith, refusing to veg with our TV’s or web surfing.
- Be steadfast to call, text or email or somehow connect with that person or persons God has put on our hearts.
- Be steadfast to fast as a way of life, whether that be from food or work or sweets or alcohol or sports – so that we can be more focused and effective.
- Be steadfast in giving, becoming more like our Savior and Father who live to give, resisting selfishness and procrastination and unbelief.
- Be steadfast in our witness, carving out time to show concern, following up those we have sown into, praying daily for hearts and eyes to open and Satan’s blinding work to be destroyed.
Well I could go on. But I want to explore the call to be steadfast in Scripture, starting in this post in the Old Testament.
Zophar was wrong to judge Job. But he was right in stating that forthrightly dealing with sin in one’s inner life and one’s home is crucial to the ability to be steadfast, “If you would direct your heart right And spread out your hand to Him, If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, And do not let wickedness dwell in your tents; Then, indeed, you could lift up your face without moral defect, And you would be steadfast and not fear.” Job 11:13- 15
King David let his guard down for a moment and it resulted in murder, adultery, the death of the first baby he had with Bathsheba, etc. But he knew the value of steadfastness and the surety of God’s mercy and forgiveness. So he cried out to God as seen in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” David had experienced the fruitfulness and success that comes from steadfastness before. And in answer to his prayers he would experience it again as he testifies in Psalm 57:7, “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!” (See also Psa. 108:1).
Just as widespread steadfastness would revolutionize our cities, widespread lack of steadfastness has devastating consequences for or on a people. Asaph wrote of this in Psalm 78:34-37 when speaking of the people of Israel wandering in the wilderness, “When He killed them, then they sought Him, And returned and searched diligently for God; And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. But they deceived Him with their mouth And lied to Him with their tongue. For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.” The “For” in that last verse, gives us the reason or points to the root of their rebellion and hypocrisy.
God promises many wonderful blessings to those who walk in steadfastness. For instance in Psalm 112:7 the ability to walk in fearlessness of evil is tied to those whose hearts are steadfast, “He will not fear evil tidings; His hearts is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”
And then a similar promise in Isaiah 26:3, “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.”
Finally in Proverbs 11:19, “He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life, And he who pursues evil will bring about his own death.”
Our wonderful Savior loves His church and is committed to producing steadfastness in His church. Next time we will see what we can learn from the New Testament about this wonderful quality.
Father thank you for imparting your life to us by faith through Your Son. Please make us a steadfast people for Your glory in Jesus’s name. Amen!
Please explain veg