7 Ways To Remain Steadfast
James 1:2-8
Count it all joy,my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach (disapproval), and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways.
There are times in our lives when we just don’t understand our season. Maybe we have a health scare, trouble in our marriage or an ill child. Maybe there are some financial issues that you weren't prepared for. It may feel like you are alone while you wait. But the truth is you are not. It may be hard to rely on God. We can begin to wonder where He is? How could He let this happen? The questioning of our faith begins to set in. In those subtle moments we begin to waver, we begin to depend on ourselves and we begin to think like the world and depend on man. We become double minded. We were never promised to have an easy life. In fact Jesus said “I have said these things to you that you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation but take heart I have overcome the world” John 16:33. Another scripture that comes to mind is “come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” Matthew 11:28-29
Jesus understood the burdens of His time and the burdens of our future. He saw his people oppressed by heavy rule and law, not just from their government but by their own religious leaders. By their own people. He also knew that in the future we, you and I, would also face difficult times in our lives. His heart then, wasn't just to take it all away, His heart was to teach them to carry it like He does, His heart was to teach them, to have rest, to be gentle and to be humble and to 100% depend on Him. Since He NEVER changes it’s still His heart for us to come to Him, to yoke ourselves to Him and to teach us to carry it. If we can learn that then we can teach others and we can advance the kingdom. It's heaven on earth ! It’s sharing His peace!
So how do you maintain staying steadfast? Seriously, how do we allow Jesus to teach us how to share the burden with Him? How do we shift our focus from our giant problem to Him ? This is hard when everything around us is falling apart? How do we release control in the hard seasons? The stress of our situation boils down to controlling the outcome to our own desires.
How do we remain steadfast?
7 Practical ways to stay steadfast
1. Praise Him - keep your focus on what Jesus already has done in your life. Give Him thanks, thank Him for what He has done and begin to thank Him for what He is going to do. Thank Him for how He is growing you in the season and thank Him for the endurance to finish strong.
2. Pray - as you pray keep in mind that He already knows your need and I encourage you to be specific with your needs and emotions. Use this time to surrender the outcome, Jesus, when he was in the garden at gethsemane he surrendered his will in exchange for God’s will. He partnered with Him, He came in agreement with Him. During this time He was so raw with God, use this time to do the same. Matthew 26:36-42
3. Petition- Ask for wisdom, ask for His perfect strategy, ask Him to light the path. Ask Him to comfort you while you wait. Ask Him for His perspective for the situation. Matthew 7:7-10 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be open. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish,will give him a serpent. If you , who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
4. Read the Word- The Bible is full of encouraging scriptures, these are historical accounts of those in the faith. Those who have gone before us, who have had face to face encounters with our God. We can read how He came to comfort them, rescue them, heal them and encourage them. As you read scripture one may stand out to you meditate on it, write it down and carry it close to you.
5. Keep an eternal mindset - Jesus is very clear that this world is not our home. “I have given them your word, and the the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” John 17:14 now honestly there is a whole sermon on this one verse, but the point is while the world expects us to fall apart when everything around us is going wrong, we can stand firm because we are not alone, we must have an eternal mindset! Our ultimate goal is Heaven, and to take as many people with us! In verse 15 Jesus goes on to say “ I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one” Jesus knows we have a target on our back, in this verse He is actively making intercession for us! Now matter the outcome of your situation Jesus still sits on the throne and our goal is Heaven. He wants us to partner with Him to overcome in the hard seasons right here on earth, with His perfect peace.
6. Share, serve and give- This looks different for everyone. Depending on your season, think of practical ways you can encourage others in the midst of the waiting. Maybe it’s serving on the hospitality team in your church, maybe it's sowing a few dollars into a mission trip, maybe it’s giving of your time to another sister in the church. Remember the widow’s mite? How about the boy with five fish and two loaves? Remember Paul’s letters, he was in jail and heavily persecuted yet he encouraged the church. No matter what we are going through you still have value and you still have something to give. Our situations do not determine our worth.
7. Journal your season - We have the whole book of Judges and Kings ( which by the way was so bad it had to be broken up into two books) as a result of a generation not passing down their history with God. “and the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth” Judges 3:7. Not remaining steadfast can lead to idol worship. More times than not it’s the idol of self, it is so important to write down your history with God. I have provided a little booklet, to help get your thoughts going . I encourage you to use it, keep it in your bible and pass it down to your children, let it ignite something in you to keep you steadfast ! Buy a journal specifically to journal your history, your a daughter, made in his image and he loves you. Writing down your history is a powerful tool for the next generation in your family.
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