Steady hands

One of the character traits I highly value is steadiness. I want to be the kind of man who does what he does with quality and in a consistent manner. No one should have to question, ‘can we rely on Jerry today?’ The Bible calls this trait faithfulness and God desires to see it in us. He entrusts us with the treasure of Christ and says " it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." (1 Corinthians 4:2, NIV) Few things bring more disgrace to Christ than those who claim to be passionately committed to Him one day and apathetic towards Him the next! "Curses and blessings out of the same mouth! My friends, this can’t go on. A spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it?” (James 3:10-11, The Message)

Faithfulness grows out of disciplined decisions. One does not live recklessly for years and suddenly become the model of steadiness! Faithfulness grows out of making the choice, again and again, to do the right thing- not the easy thing, not the convenient thing, not the fun thing – but the right thing. A child who is taught to do the little things on time and with quality will most likely grow into an adult who is capable of pushing through tough days faithfully! Jesus told a story about three men given a trust, each according to his abilities. The master inspected their work and commended two who were faithful by saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!" (Matthew 25:20-21, NIV)

However, faithfulness is not just a matter of discipline. There is a little story in Exodus that reminds us of the importance of companions who keep us steady when Life gets rough. Take a look. "While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset." (Exodus 17:8-12, NLT) How did Moses keep steady hands? Only with the help of two great friends!

I promise you that days will come when you want to turn from the hard stuff and run away! Some of those days will stretch into months when every morning dawns demanding that you get up and do the right thing. It might be dealing with chronic pain, loving a difficult person, working for an idiot boss, or wrestling with some inner temptation. Stay steady. Don’t quit. When you think you’re on the edge of collapse, call for support.

Watch out for pride when you’re doing well. One of the larger hazards is blindness to our weakness that overtakes us when we’re on a long run of success. Here’s a warning and promise. May the wisdom of these words keep us faithful.

"Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence. No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face.
All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it " (1 Corinthians 10:12-13, The Message)