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Musings on Faith #58 Do Not Despair | |
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It has been a pretty tough week in our family, with several of those ‘crisis’ encounters we all face from time to time all coming our way at once. It got me to thinking of how often even Christians allow themselves to get into a desperate or despairing state of mind. This brought to mind the word ‘steadfast’. Webster’s defines ‘steadfast’ as "firmly fixed in place; not subject to change; firm in belief, determination, or adherence". That makes ‘steadfast’ a pretty good word, don’t you think? There are several references in the Bible to being steadfast. Perhaps the most well-known are the words of David in Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (NIV)." Two others are also instructive: "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you (Isaiah 26:3, NIV)", and, "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, . . . . . will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast (1st Peter 5:10, NIV)."
In the face of such assurance, how can we ever truly despair? We have that certain hope in Christ Jesus, which is not mere wishfulness but a certain knowledge of His love, mercy and grace! In the face of all my wife and I have been dealing with recently, by yesterday afternoon I was physically and emotionally |
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exhausted and drained. All energy had left my body. And then I remembered that Joy in the Lord is not circumstantial or temporary, but eternal and sure. Sometimes, as with me yesterday, we forget to remain steadfast. When we do, we shut ourselves off from receiving His strength, firmness and steadfastness. Why we do this is a part of the imperfect human condition, but we need not deprive ourselves of the Lord’s blessings. A word closely related to steadfast is faith. The answer to continually receiving the blessings God has for us each day is to remain steadfast in our faith, and secure in the Joy of the Lord, regardless of our circumstances. Yesterday’s crisis is now history. The situation resolved itself, with God’s intervention, in a way which will bring help to him who needed it and peace to those of us who were trying to steer him in the right direction. In the midst of the crisis, the Lord spoke to him in a powerful way, and he turned from his path toward disaster and moved in a direction which will lead him to victory in his life. This experience has brought to me in a most dramatic and direct way the importance of remaining steadfast in our faith and certain hope in the Lord. |
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