Steadfast

The psalmist writes, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise" (Psalms 57:7, KJV). The word steadfast in the original means firm.

Change is inevitable and it can leave us feeling shaken and unstable. Step outside your door. Daily the weather can change in hours from bright and beautiful to stormy and threatening. Political and economic forces rise and fall, leaving in it's wake civil unrest and destruction. Newspapers and other media can't keep up with the latest breaking news which can leave many overwhelmed and uncertain about the future.

On Sunday afternoon, I spoke to my father whose health is failing. Then on the way home from work my phone signaled an incoming text message. At a red light, I glance down where the phone rested on the passenger seat. A message from my mom read, "Dad...in the hospital...don't know anything else." In seconds, my world was spinning with anxiety and apprehension. My thoughts raced with the next steps to take or prepare. I'm just a few hours away from Delaware, but did not know what hospital he was admitted or how I could manage the trip while in training for my new job position. I'm still staying in a hotel waiting for the apartment to open and it was quickly growing wearisome.

To be unshakable in uncertain times requires us to be rooted in a deep, abiding trust in the Lord. Difficulties and challenges won't remain forever, but faith in God will anchor us to the Unchanging One, the Ancient One of Days.

"But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-8, NIV).

Beloved, you will not go under or be swept away in a torrent of fear. God will cause our lives to be green in the summer or times of drought because God will never fail us!