“May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.”
2 Thessalonians 3:5 NASB
What is the steadfastness of Christ? Certainly, His steadfastness was demonstrated in His determination to go to the cross (Luke 9:51). But I’ve also been blessed to consider that steadfastness was a lifestyle to Jesus. He steadfastly submitted to His parents (Luke 2:51-52); He steadfastly worked in His carpentry shop, doing mundane tasks, working diligently, as unto the Lord. Perhaps He even steadfastly rocked His younger siblings to sleep when they were babies!
This is the steadfastness I feel the Lord has been encouraging me to grow in: the steadfastness that welcomes the mundane responsibilities of daily life — the traffic, the dishes, the emails, the diapers, the phone calls — as an opportunity to grow in grace and acknowledge God’s divine appointment. Persevering in believing that God causes all things to work together to make me like Christ, and in the belief that today is the day of salvation.
The Bible tells us that once God is able to establish us in this steadfastness, we will be “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:4), so I should long to be established in the steadfastness of Christ! I’ve been encouraged to see the pains that the Lord is willing to take to direct my heart into the steadfastness that characterized the daily life of Jesus Christ.
Tomorrow Is Not The Day of Salvation
“Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION.”
2 Corinthians 6:2b NASB
In the midst of the ordinary routines of life, it’s so easy to assume that some other day is the important day. But the Lord has been reminding me, “Don’t think tomorrow is the day of salvation.” Sure, there are no major things happening today. There may only be a bunch of little responsibilities to attend to. But don’t forget, “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much” (Luke 16:10).
I believe that faithfulness in a very little thing is the reason God gave David a passion for His name, even as a young man. We know David spent his early years tending the flocks, doing mostly thankless, mundane, boring work. But look at how he looks back on those days:
“Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse declares, The man who was raised on high declares, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel,”
2 Samuel 23:1 NASB
Tending the flocks was such a trivial assignment that even David’s own father forgot about him (1 Samuel 16:5-11). Yet to David, because he chose to praise God in it, his own recollection of those years is, “It’s as if I was raised on high!” And because I can fellowship with the Lord Jesus in the midst of my own mundane responsibilities, I want to be able to say that as well.
Ask God For Help
“Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,”
Romans 15:5 NASB
I love seeing God in this light: He’s the One Who gives both steadfastness and encouragement. That’s the kind of Giver He is. When people ask me, “What kind of beloved is your beloved?” (Song of Solomon 5:9), I want to say from the bottom of my heart, “He’s the God Who encourages me to keep going every single day!” I cannot by my own diligence or determination stir up enough endurance for the "daily mundane," but if I ask God, He will give all that I need to "run with endurance the race set before me."