STEADFAST
The Lord has been putting this word on my heart lately.
Remain steadfast.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”
1 Peter 5:8-9
This is Peter telling us this.
Peter, the one who told Jesus he would never deny Him – even if he had to die with Him.
Peter, one of the apostles whom Jesus took and asked him to pray the night before He was arrested, and then fell asleep.
Peter, the one who impetuously drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant.
Peter, the one who vehemently denied Christ three times.
But all that doesn’t make him less credible; it makes him more.
He’s saying don’t do what I did! He learned what the devil had been up to and he wanted to warn his brothers and sisters in Christ to be aware.
To remain steadfast in the faith – steadfast in our convictions, steadfast in the truth, steadfast in our reliance upon Christ and Christ alone, now and forever.
The devil’s ways are the same as ever. he’s looking for people who are at a weak place, who aren’t being alert and vigilant to the devil’s ways, who aren’t steadfastly trusting in the power and righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Right now, when the world seems like a raging sea, is an opportune time for the enemy to try to discourage us, to trip us up, to question Jesus, and maybe even walk away from Him, even a step.
But we who are in Christ can confidently “lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever…”
Hebrews 6:18b-20
No matter what happens in this life, we don’t have to give in to fear and be tossed around in the waves of confusion. We have an anchor of hope.
We have the promises of God, all of which in Christ are yes and amen. His promises are for this life and extend all the way behind the veil that lies between this life and the next.
Our sure hope, our anchor in rough seas, is that Christ is with us now, and He will surely call us to live with Him in His home where we’ve laid up treasures beyond comprehension, and where love and peace and joy are the way of life.
And we’re reminded of this hope every time we pray, every time we read God’s Word, and every time we enter into fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Our steadfast anchor of hope will keep us steadfast, too.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
1 Cor 15:58
In the days leading up to today, the words that kept coming to my heart were that our help comes from the Lord.
