KEEP ON SERVING JEHOVAH WITH A STEADFAST HEART - Keep On Serving With a Steadfast Heart

Keep On Serving With a Steadfast Heart

In these critical times, we must work hard to live up to our dedication and keep on serving God with a steadfast heart.  Jesus said:  "He that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved."  (Matthew 24:13) Since we  are living in "the last days," the end can come at any time.  (2 Timothy 3:1) Moreover, none of us can be sure that we will be alive tomorrow.  (James 4:13, 14)  So it is vital that we keep on living up to our dedication today!

The apostle Peter emphasized this in his second letter.  He showed that even as the ungodly perished in the Flood, so the symbolic earth, or wicked human society, will be destroyed during "Jehovah's day."  Peter therefore exclaimed:  "What sort of persons ought you to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion"!   He also urged them:  "Beloved ones, having this advance knowledge, be on your guard that you may not be led away [by false teachers and ungodly men]  and fall from your own steadfastness."  (2 Peter 3:5-17)   How tragic it would be if a baptized person were to be led astray and come to the end of his or her life as one who failed to maintain a steadfast heart!

Your determination to live up to your dedication to God may well be strengthened if you keep in mind the happy day of your baptism and seek God's help so that your words and deeds will make his heart rejoice.  (Proverbs 27:11) Jehovah never fails his people, and surely we should be faithful to him.  (Psalm 94:14) He showed mercy and pity in thwarting the enemy's plans and delivering David. Grateful for this, David declared the firmness, the immovableness, of his love for his Deliverer.  With deep feeling, he sang:  "My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast.  I will sing and make melody." -Psalm  57:7.

Like David, true Christians have not budged from their devotion to God.  With  steadfast hearts, they ascribe their deliverance and preservation to Jehovah, to whom they joyfully sing praises.  If your heart is steadfast, it will be reliant upon God, and with his help you will be able to fulfill your dedication.  Yes, you can be like "the righteous one" concerning whom the psalmist said:  "He will not be afraid even of bad news.  His heart is steadfast, made reliant upon Jehovah."  (Psalm 112:6, 7)  With faith in God and full reliance upon his, you can live up to your dedication and keep on serving Jehovah with a steadfast heart. 

Next time: God Welcomes All the Nations

The Watchtower, 2002