MEANS: resolutely or
dutifully firm and unwavering.
FROM: Old English stedefæst:
standing firm
BIBLE VERSE: Create in me a
pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast
spirit
within me. (Psalm 51:10 NIV)
THOUGHTS: Other
Bible translations of Psalm 51:10 ask for a ‘right spirit’ (KJV) or ‘loyal
spirit’ (NLT). The sense of each one being that we need to have our hearts, our
spirits changed. Psalm 51 is read on Ash Wednesday as a call to a holy Lent.
The Psalm begins by reminding us that God is steadfast. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love…blot
out my transgressions.” We, however, are in need of being re-created and made
new with a relationship that is firmly fixed on God.
You may remember the story of the Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Anderson. The soldier is
part of a set of soldiers created from a single spoon. He is missing one leg
because the tin ran out. However, he falls in love with the ballerina doll.
Through a series of adventures he gets separated from the ballerina and his
home, until he is swallowed by a fish. This fish is bought in the market and
brought home for dinner. Discarded and thrown into the fire, the soldier melts
into a heart, still loving the ballerina, who herself blows into the fire and
is consumed “except her spangle, and it was burned as black as
a coal.”
Our own lives are a series of adventures that change and
renew us so that what is left at the end is a heart for God.
PRAYER: Living
God, renew a steadfast, unwavering spirit in my so that my heart may be fixed
on you.
MEANS: grow or develop well or vigorously,
prosper; flourish.
FROM: Middle
English (originally in the sense ‘grow, increase’): from Old Norse thrífask, grasp, get hold of.’
BIBLE VERSE: May grain
abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. May the crops
flourish like Lebanon and thrive
like the
grass of the field (Psalm 72:16)
THOUGHTS: Thrive
is a word that isn’t used much in the Bible. The word in this psalm citation is
also translated ‘flourish’, which is one of the definitions of the word. If we
read all of Psalm 72 we discover that it is a prayer for the prosperity of the
king. “…So may he live, and may the gold
of Sheba be given to him; And let them pray for him continually; Let them bless
him all day long. May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the
mountains; Its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon; And may those from
the city flourish like vegetation of the earth. May his name endure forever;
May his name increase as long as the sun shines; And let men bless themselves
by him; Let all nations call him blessed…” (Ps. 72:15-17)
This is also a prayer for those of us who are sons and
daughters of the King of Kings. We are blessed by God to Thrive. A contemporary
Christian song by the group Casting Crowns is called Thrive. The artists remind us that we are “Like a tree planted by
the water We never will run dry. So living water flowing through…Fill our
hearts and flood our souls with one desire Just to know You and To make You
known… We know we were made for so much more Than ordinary lives. It's time for
us to more than just survive We were made to thrive…”
PRAYER: Loving
Lord of Life, Give us we pray that Joy Unspeakable, Faith
Unsinkable, and Love Unstoppable to know that Anything is possible. Help us to know
You and make You known, for we know we were made for so much more than ordinary
lives. We were made to thrive
SCRAPBOOK PROMPTS:
Read all of Psalm 51 and journal about ways that God’s
steadfast love is changing your heart this Lent.
Find an image that illustrates what it means, to you, to THRIVE in your relationship with God. Is
it the ‘tree by the water’ that the song mentions? Is it a green field? Is it a
cross?
God gives us, as the song says, “Joy
Unspeakable, Faith Unsinkable, and Love Unstoppable”. How does that prove God’s
steadfast Love to you, and help you to thrive in your relationship?
