I give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your word above everything. Psalm 138:2

You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23  

Steadfast is not a word we use very often, although we do read it in the Bible in a number of verses. God is often described as being steadfast in love, in His love for us. So, what does it mean to be steadfast? Vocabulary.com tells us that “The word steadfast traces back to the Old English word stedefæst, a combination of stede, meaning "place," and fæst, meaning "firmly fixed." Picture a steadfast person standing firmly in place, not wavering or budging an inch, and you'll have a good sense of what this word means.”  

This is the picture we have of God. He is standing firmly in place; He doesn’t waver in the love He has for us. He doesn’t waver in His care for us, and for all people. The psalmists response to God’s faithfulness is to give thanks. To praise the Lord who has never wavered in His love for us. We know that God’s name and especially His word are “above everything.” How do we even deserve this steadfast love?  

As we read in I Peter, we have been born anew through the Word of God. Born anew through His saving grace, through a Word that is living and enduring. We too, with the Psalmist can only give thanks and praise to such a wondrous, eternal, faithful God.    

We bow before you, O Lord, grateful recipients of your steadfast love and faithfulness. We lift your name above all others, unworthy recipients of a new life in Christ Jesus. We thank you and put all our hope in you, our eternal God, world without end. Amen.    

Chris Gabel 

Ministries
Teaching Mission Party