STEADFAST

Our neighbors have a new puppy, Sadie. She is a lovable Pit Bull full of energy and eager for attention. To keep her from getting lost or running away, it was necessary to finish fencing in their yard. So, with help from family members, holes were dug, cement was poured, and metal posts for a chain-link fence were sealed into the ground. That fence is not going anywhere; Sadie is quite secure.

Meditation
Psalm 119:112—My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.

To be steadfast, as defined by the dictionary, means to be fixed or unchanging, firmly loyal and constant; unswerving. Like a cemented fence post, a steadfast person is secure. Virtually all of us are steadfast to some degree. The question is to what are we committed? For example, a person devoted to having a good time and not becoming locked into rules or regulations is steadfastly free-spirited. We determine what defines steadfast by finding what a person is locked into doing or being.

Psalm 119 is a devotional on the importance of the word of God. Appropriately, it is the longest chapter in the Bible. Perhaps the two most famous verses in this chapter are 11, and 105—“I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You” and “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” The theme of Psalm 119 might best be captured by the meditation verse above. The psalmist recognizes the value of God’s word and therefore commits to a lifetime of obeying His commands.

What are you steadfastly pursuing? How would those who know you define what you live for; what values and convictions have you cemented into the ground? How does God see you? He judges us according to our willingness to obey and follow after His Son, Jesus. He promises us that when we set His Word highest and pursue Christ first, we will be blessed! It’s not easy to be steadfast, but it is essential! The world will mock and label you as a legalist, a fundamentalist, as intolerant for choosing to obey God’s Word. But the world holds no authority over your soul, cannot give you eternal life, and has nothing to substitute in place of God’s commands to bring you joy and fulfillment. Forget about the world. Quit pursuing what is ultimately useless. Take up the psalmist’s cry, “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your word . . . Oh that my ways were steadfast in obeying Your decrees!” (119:37,5)

Inspiration
Steadfast maintenance of a relationship to God by private obedience is the only way to bear fruit.—Oswald Chambers in Notes On Jeremiah