PSALM 108:1-4 – My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

THEME OF THE DAY. WHY WE ARE STEADFAST. My morning readings landed me on today’s scripture. As I began reading it, I stopped at the first six words. I thought, “Boy, I wish my heart was like David; steadfast. I seem to have a heart like a ship on the ocean in a storm – tossed to and fro.” But then, I stopped and realized, David struggled. David was tossed about in life by sin and trying circumstances. David was not the “perfect” Christian. Yet, this man could pray to the Lord with an open heart saying, “My heart is steadfast” and God knew it was true of his child. And it can be true of us, too. Why? David’s steadfastness was not in himself. His steadfastness came from his focus on His steadfast God. Continuing in the Psalm, I came to verse four – “For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds”. And right then, I “discovered” the secret of David’s steadfast heart and what will be the secret to us also having steadfast hearts. Our steadfastness is grounded on our ability to meditate and lean upon the steadfast love of God; to keep our eyes off self and onto Jesus. Or obeying the command in the twelfth chapter of Hebrews – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

So, if that is the answer to a steadfast heart; a fixation on the Lord, how do we do this practically? There are a couple of ways. First and foremost is getting a mind saturated with the scripture. Get the Word so engrained in us that we think Bible – all the time and in every situation. And this will require more than just a little devotional reading. Let me give you a challenge. You can do it and it will change your life. Take one of the little epistles of the Apostle Paul – Philippians, Colossians – they are both only four chapters long. The Philippian letter is about joy in the Lord. The Colossian letter is about the supremacy of Christ. Pick your book and then read it through in its entirety every day for a month. Yes, read all of Philippians or Colossians every day for a month. You can do it. It takes about twenty minutes at normal reading speed. As you do this, ask God to show you His Son, the Lord Jesus. If
you do this consistently and prayerfully, it will change your life; it will lead to a steadfast heart.

Another spiritual discipline to do in the search for a steadfast heart is prayer, but not like you may think. In my reading of Psalm 108 and the part about God’s steadfast love, I stopped and asked, “What is the supreme display of God’s love to me?” The answer is obviously the cross of Christ. But I went further and began to think about all that Christ is to the Christian beyond Savior. That led to me spending the next little bit of time simply thanking God for all Jesus is to me . . . my prayer went something like this, “Father, I praise You for giving me Jesus to be my wisdom, my sanctification, my righteousness, my redemption, my wonderful counselor, my prince of peace, my shepherd, my God, my everlasting Father, my bread of life, my hope, my anchor, my friend, my teacher, my prophet, my high priest . . .” It is amazing how the Spirit of God will produce worship, praise, steadfastness and hunger for Christ when in prayer we forget ourselves and focus on Christ. Try this, not as a formula, but as part of the relationship you have with the Lord. But there is a pre-requisite. You must know what and who He is to you and that comes from being in the Word.

David is a model of steadfastness. It is a model we may follow as we learn to marvel and meditate on Him who is our source of steadfastness found in His amazing and steadfast love.

PRAYER: “Father, I so praise You for being all I need, all the time, and that through all eternity.”

QUOTE: “Meditate on who Jesus is to us and watch how your heart soars in praise and worship”