Day 28: Love is Steadfast

Steadfast - not shakable; "firm convictions"

Head: As always, I begin my challenges and days with prayer.  I thought today's challenge would be difficult but as always God has a plan.  Today's challenge will be steadfastness and tomorrows on Love.  That leaves days 30 - 40 to focus on Love and whatever lessons God has in store for us; but for today, let's focus on steadfastness.

I had to ask God to clear my head for this challenge.  The lesson He wants us to learn is clearly not in me but in Him.  As I mentioned yesterday, my struggles seem to be with Self-Control and until I can climb onto that level of being stead-fast on my Marriage Mountain, I will stumble and fall.  So, God is carrying fully the lesson in the next two posts as they will be utter and complete lessons for me as well.

I looked up steadfast in the dictionary and the two words that stood out were "firm" and "unshakable".  I opened my Bible and landed directly on Psalms 61.  Then I later turned to the next devotion in my Bible and the title was "Unshakable Confidence".  WOW, right?

For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against my foe. Psalms 61:3

For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.  From birth I have relied on you.  Psalm 71: 5-6

During this 40 day process I have often asked myself "Who am I to lead these women and start this study?  Sometimes I think maybe "You picked the wrong woman for this job, Lord?"  Let me ask you, have you ever questioned your purpose?  Who do you rely on to give you confidence?  It is absolutely true that if we rely on ourselves, we will NOT be qualified for which God calls us.  In fact, all through Scripture we see that God often chose people who felt unqualified for the tasks He gave them: Abraham, Gideon, Moses, Sarah, etc.  If God can use a roaming Bedouin to birth a nation, a stuttering speaker to confront Egypt's pharaoh, a shepherd boy to lead a nation, an exiled Jewish girl to rescue her people, then God can use US!

In Psalms, the writer boldly proclaims his dependence on God.  Even from birth and with every breath, he proclaims that it occurred because of God.  When we feel weak and have little confidence, we are most open to relying on God.  The Bible tells us over and over about God's strength in the face of our own shortcomings.    (Philippians 4:13, Jeremiah 32:17, Romans 8:37, 2 Corinthians 12:9)

Heart: God wants our marriage to be unshakable, that is why Faith is the base of our marriage.  In everything we do to have the marriage we desire we must first have faith, then virtue, after virtue knowledge, and then to be steadfast.  The are aspects of our marriage that are still trying to control that we truly should let God handle because we have utter confidence in Him and KNOW that he is the Rock in our marriage. 

Hands:  If you find yourself in a new situation today, make sure you don't rely on your own limited skills, but that you place your unshakable confidence in the limitless God.  Pray that God give you the opportunity in your marriage today to experience His steadfast, unshakeable love.