To Be Steadfast

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3

It seems like it has been quite awhile since I’ve been on here, and I have missed every minute of meeting with you here each day. One week away is just too much for me. Well, I am back! I just returned from an incredible trip to Chicago to spend some much needed time with my family and friends. What a tremendous blessing it was! Each day was filled with old friends, lots of laughs, and incredible quality time with some of the people I love most on this earth. The week away was truly a gift, and yet I am so ready to get back to Neue Thing and meeting with the Lord and each of you here.

God has richly blessed me in the area of friendships. Going back home for a week served as a sweet reminder to me of that truth. Although I wasn’t able to see everyone that I would have liked to, I had the opportunity to get together with some friends that I have known since I was a child. Friendships that have lasted my lifetime, and I pray will last many more years to come, have been some of the ones to shape me the most. One friend in particular that I had the blessing to connect with while I was there I have known since the young age of five. We weren’t good friends until we were older, but we share memories as far back as we can remember. We went to the same Christian school from Kindergarten through high school graduation, and we even went on to attend the same Christian college. She was a few years ahead of me, yet our friendship has remained over all these years, and I am so grateful for her influence in my life. She is now a wife and a mother of three little ones and is one of the most godly young women I know. Her love for Jesus has consistently caused me to grow in my faith, and her steadfastness in the faith is a remarkable example to all.

As we sat and shared with each other all that has happened in our lives since the last time we were face to face, the word “steadfast” kept coming to my mind again and again. There were far too many seasons in my life that unfortunately cannot be described as steadfast in regards to my faith, yet God faithfully placed people in my life that helped to keep me on the straight and narrow path, and this friend was definitely one of them. Her steadfastness was often the catalyst in my returning to the Lord. God has done a mighty work in both of our lives these past several years, and the common denominator in that has been an unwavering and determined resolution to pursue the Lord with all of our hearts – one goal, one purpose, one direction, one hope: Jesus Christ Himself.

Currently, we both find ourselves in uncharted waters. She just gave birth to her third child, a handsome little baby boy, and I am currently in job transition trying to trust the Lord with whatever He has next for me. Peace of mind could be an elusive thing for either of us right now as we try to adjust and make sense of the new and unknown, but I find hope again today in God’s Word that perfect peace is afforded to those who are steadfast in the Lord, to those whose minds are focused on trusting Jesus Christ. When we place our hope, our confidence, and our trust in the right place, fear no longer has the power to control us. Rather, peace becomes our new reality.
I assume you desire this peace just as much as I do. Call me crazy, but I believe we all want to experience this kind of peace that only God can provide. And do you know how we can get a hold of it? Steadfastness. A fixed determination, a steady resolve, an unwavering resolution to take one step after another in the same direction for the rest of our lives, no turning back. Oh, to be steadfast! This is the cry of my heart.

I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
No turning back, no turning back.