A relationship with God takes commitment and investment. We need steadfast faith to keep us in pursuit of the Lord even when life gets difficult.
There is no shortage of distractions that seek to subtly pull us away from God. Worldly pressure can ensnare us through intimidation to fit its mold. The lies of the enemy pierce our hearts like arrows with discouragement and deception. Our own flesh can give into apathy. And the list goes on.
In light of all this, here are three ways we can maintain steadfast faith through life’s changing seasons and circumstances.
1. Don’t Live by Feelings
When I began to fervently seek God, I became more sensitive to his presence. But as time passed, I was no longer feeling him tangibly like I had before. I was in a season of crying out for more of him. I missed feeling his presence and knew I couldn’t be satisfied without him.
Though it was difficult at the time, those months of confusion, frustration and desperation taught me not to rely solely on feelings. I learned how to continue to pursue the Lord even when he seemed distant. Even when I felt like my desires weren’t being met, I learned how to love God better. I learned how to stay faithful to him no matter how I felt.
2. Keep the fire burning
It is easy to start out on fire for God, especially if his presence is tangible and your life has suddenly been dramatically transformed through his love and redemption. But what happens when the feelings wane and you’re back to the everyday routines of life? This is why it’s so important to keep the fire burning every day.
A great example of this is God’s commands concerning the burnt offering that he gave to the priests under the Old Covenant. Leviticus 6:12-13 says, “The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.”
God required the fire to be continually burning on the altar. We must guard ourselves diligently against becoming lukewarm, for this is possibly our most strategic and subtle enemy that can creep in unaware if we are not careful.
In addition, it is interesting to notice that throughout the Old Testament, we see a pattern of the fire of God consuming the sacrifice (1 Kings 18:38, 2 Chronicles. 7:1). In the New Testament, we are called living sacrifices (Romans. 12:1), so we are now called to offer ourselves to the Lord and place our life on the altar before him. He is calling us to be a sacrifice that his fire can consume. The secret to staying on fire for God is to continually surrender and lay down our lives in obedience. Click To Tweet
3. Be a Diligent Seeker
We must spend time with people in order to get to know them better. It is no different with God. When we spend time in prayer, studying the Bible and in fellowship with other believers we will begin to know God’s character and his voice.
God rewards those who diligently seek him (Hebrews. 11:6). We must be diligent in our seeking, not halfhearted or inconsistent.
When you do something diligently, you put your whole heart into it. You don’t give up. You give it all you’ve got.
God is faithful to reward those who diligently seek Him. The original meaning of the Greek word “reward” in this verse means “one who pays wages”. That puts things in a totally different light. We will earn our wages of discovering more of God when we put the work in through diligent seeking.
There are no shortages of internal and external distractions that war against our relationship with God. I encourage you to ask the Lord for the grace to continually hunger for him and never be satisfied or complacent in your walk with him. There is always more to be discovered, and there are always deeper dimensions of closeness with him that can be gained.
