Being steadfast is a wonderful trait to have in our relationship with the Lord. Steadfast means being resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering. It means we’re loyal, faithful, committed and devoted. It’s not easy to be steadfast in anything unless you are in love with whatever you are involved with. Whether in a relationship with your spouse, or a friendship, or with your job, but especially when it comes to God, being steadfast takes love. Unless we love him it is not easy to stay consistent with our desire for him. It takes a true love to be with the Lord.
The children of Israel struggled with being steadfast. In Psalm 78 the Psalmist again and again mourned that the children of Israel were not steadfast with the Lord.
“And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.” {Psalm 78:8}
“For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.” {Psalm 78:37}
I tell you, every time I read, “Whose spirit was not steadfast with God” I cringe. How I so desire to be steadfast with him. How I so desire to please him and love him forever. How do I do this?
Then I noticed in reading these verses that the problem seems to lie with their hearts not always being right with the Lord. Why is that? The Psalmist actually shows us in chapter of Psalm 78 that there are traits that are needed to have this steadfastness. These traits were missing from the children of Israel who were not steadfast with the Lord. There are three things I noticed that we need to practice:
- Remember His works
“That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” {Psalm 78:7}
“They kept not the covenant of God and refused to walk in his law; and forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.” {Psalm 78:10-11}
“They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.” {Psalm 78:42}
Basically, remember the things God has done for us. Don’t be too forgetful of how he brought us through tough situations in our lives. Also remember to thank him even for little things he’s done for us, even as simple as thanking him for waking us up this morning and keeping us alive for another day. We want to get in the habit of thanking him for everything in our lives, for small things and for great things. This will help us to be steadfast with the Lord. We need to thank him again and again so that not only will we remember what he’s done for us, but our faith in him will also increase.
Speaking of faith that is another thing the children of Israel were missing. They did not believe the Lord. They continually doubted him. So the second thing I noticed that we need to practice is in having faith in God.
- Have faith in Him
“Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; Can he give bread also? Can he provide flesh for his people? Therefore the Lord heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel; Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:” {Psalm 78:19-22}
“For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.” {Psalm 78:32}
“Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” {Psalm 78:41}
It’s so important to believe in the Lord and not limit him in what he can do for us. If believing is something we struggle with all we need to do is ask the Lord Jesus to give us more faith in him. The Bible states that if we ask we will receive. The apostles asked Jesus when he was still with them to give them faith. They told him, “Lord, increase our faith.” {Luke 17:5} So we too can ask the same thing from the Lord, “Jesus, give me more faith!”
If we have more faith in the Lord we will not end up turning to other things in this life for help so easily when things go wrong. We won’t easily go to the world for help but we will remember the Lord whenever we need something, because we believe that he can do anything for us. That’s the third thing I noticed that the children of Israel really had a hard time with – serving only one God. They somehow loved to turn to the other gods of this world instead of turning to God alone and worshiping him alone. They called on other gods for help instead of only to him. So the third thing we need to make sure of is that we have no other other gods we love in this life beside the Lord.
- Have no other Gods beside Him
“For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:” {Psalm 78:78-79}
We might not be living in a time where we have icons we bow to and worship as a god. However, we need to still be very careful in the way we love other things in this life. If they end up possessing our heart and soul so that he no longer has a say in our lives, then we have replaced him. That would be a sad thing because we can end up truly loving other gods beside him. We could end up hurting ourselves very much. Furthermore we can incur the anger of the Lord against us if we are truly his children. If he loves us you can count on him to get jealous over the things we desire more than him, and he could end up correcting us. The Bible states those he loves he corrects. It’s not a happy thing when God is upset with us because our spirit will feel it and we will not have his peace. Nothing can compare to the love of God and the peace that comes with that love, if we are set in our hearts to make him alone to be our God. Not only that, he will bless us. He will prosper us in all that we do in this life. The Bible states in Psalm 1:2-3 that if we delight in the law of the Lord whatever we do we will prosper in it. He gives so much peace that there is nothing we will ever lack in this life if we set him to be our God alone.
My prayer is that he will surely help me to be steadfast in my love for him. To remember to practice these three traits: to remember his works, to have faith in him, and to always make sure he is the first in my life and my only God. I pray that he will help me to remember to thank him for everything, great and small, for all the things he has done for me, to go to him first thing every time I have a need, and to always believe that he can do anything for me and that nothing is impossible with him.
Father, help me to love you more today and be steadfast to you everyday. I pray Lord Jesus in your most wonderful name. Amen.
