Not a Guest Blog: Part 2: The Virtue of Steadfastness

Dear Readers, this is probably a surprise. I don't normally do repeats, but the Lord placed these verses on my heart. Then, a few Psalms later, again. Then, on the cover of my church bulletin on Sunday (see below), and then again, in the devotion I was reading. The Lord is talking to me and I'm listening!

Psalm 51:10 -12

"Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me,

Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and grant me a willing spirit,

to sustain me."

These words were written by David, AFTER Bathsheba, when the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. and after Uriah died when placed at the front of battle and abandoned.

If you are part of a liturgical church, you, like me, sing these words as part of the service many Sundays out of the year. Not until recently did I know where these words came from in the Bible.

Some of the most beautiful words in God's collection came from one of the ugliest deeds and the resulting guilt.

We all sin. That's a fact. Our sin might not be as blatant and horrible as the Bathsheba incident, but we do sin. That's Step #1 in any change--acknowledging our guilt.

Sidenote as to just how wrong human beings can be--for a long time in Psychology, and for some subfields still, guilt was seen as a bad thing. Freud, for instance, argued that mental health could be achieved if we rid ourselves of all guilt.

Huh? Why would anyone be motivated to change bad behavior if we didn't feel bad? Believe me, Freud, us humans mess up and need to feel bad about those mistakes.

David was a man after God's own heart.

What? How could he be? My mother really has trouble with this question--after what David did, he should have been punished (he was, by the way, just in case you haven't read this story--churches don't tend to dwell on this topic in sermons). Today, he would have been put on death row.

The answer? Step #2 Feel bad, but move forward.

David didn't just wallow in his misery. He asked God to change him. He begged God to help him be better. #3 Change. Repent means turn around and go in a different direction (not a 360, folks).

Wondering what this has to do with steadfastness? #4 Stick with it.

Yeah, yeah, this is the hard part. We all know this from trying to make minor changes in our lives, like cutting back on sugar. Here's where psychology can be helpful. (And catch the magic). If you can stick with something for 40 days (I will admit, some research says thirty, others say more, but 40 is right there in the mix), then you are likely to stay with it for good.

Wait, you say? I've given things up for Lent, but then gone right back to binging on popcorn, etc. #5 Change the circumstances--don't buy the popcorn, enlist people around you to also join your change, and find substitutes. The one thing we don't do well is just tell ourselves not to do it.

So, I hope this helps the next time you make a mistake. Own up to it and learn from it, and never move away from God.

He is certainly not moving away from you.

Psalm 57:7 "My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music."

Bulletin at church on June 7, 2026