A Steady Spirit | Qualities of Women Who Trust Jesus

“Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
— Psalm 51:10

Airplanes can drift. In aviation, the 1 in 60 rule means that if an aircraft strays off course by a mere 1 degree, it will end up 1 nautical mile away from its destination for every 60 nautical miles it travels (skybrary.com).

When pilots realize their aircraft is off-course, they apply the 1 in 60 rule to rectify the error. If they don’t, they won’t reach their destination, not to mention they’d be endangering everyone on board. In Antarctica in 1979, a group of sight-seers crashed into a mountain simply because the plane’s course had deviated by only 2 degrees. Sadly, 279 people lost their lives that day (Haden, 2022).

In Psalm 51, King David realized how off-course he had gone. Here’s a rundown of what happened.

Even though David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), he had significant sin issues. He was a wealthy, powerful ruler who, like the pagan leaders of surrounding cultures, married a lot of women.

Multiple wives and even more concubines could not satisfy him. One afternoon, he caught a glimpse of a beautiful woman and longed to have her for himself. Even though Bathsheba was married — to one of David’s loyal warriors no less— he slept with her.

To complicate things even more, Bathsheba found out she was pregnant. David freaked out. He manipulated circumstances so that her husband could be brought home from the front lines of battle. David hoped that Uriah would sleep with his wife to avoid a scandal, but Uriah was a man of integrity and would not enjoy the comforts of his home knowing that his men were suffering in battle.

David’s coverup plan backfired.

Instead of acting with integrity, instead of admitting his sin and rectifying the situation in an honorable way, David dug his hole even deeper. Again, using his power to manipulate circumstances, David sent Uriah to where the battle was fiercest, instructing the commander of the army to let Uriah be killed by the enemy. He committed murder in order to cover up his sin and maintain his reputation.

After Bathsheba mourned her loss, David married her and she gave birth to a son.

But God saw it all, “and the thing David had done displeased the Lord” (2 Samuel 11:27). God sent Samuel, a prophet, to confront David about his error, and in Psalm 51, David finally breaks. He confesses his sin, acknowledges God’s compassion, and cries out for mercy.

In verse 10, David prays for God to give him a clean heart and a steadfast spirit. This word steadfast is significant because it recognizes how unfaithful the human spirit can be— how not-steadfast we can become over time. We twist and turn, we drift and divert. We so easily fall to temptation, and the smallest of decisions can cause us to veer miles off course.

When we ask God to give us a steadfast spirit, we’re asking him to straighten us out, to make us right again, to steer us back toward the course He has for us. A steadfast spirit is one who is established by the Lord— steady, faithful and secure. The steadfast woman’s steps are ordered by God. She knows her goal is to glorify Him, enjoy His goodness here on earth, and spend eternity in His presence. Her feet are fixed to the path He has for her.

Are there any red flags in your life? Is there a temptation you’ve given into? When you look back at seemingly small decisions, can you see how far they’ve led you away from God’s path?

Let’s remember who we are today. We are women who are committed to the course God has marked out for us, and we’re humble enough to ask for help when we drift. We are women who trust Jesus, our compassionate Savior, who corrects our course, carries us to our destination, and steadies our spirits.

REFERENCES:

Haden, Jeff. “The 1 in 60 Rule.” inc.com, Mansueto Ventures, 2022, www.inc.com/sap/ready-for-anything.html.

https://www.skybrary.aero/articles/rules-thumb

https://gofly.online/Video/cross-country-lesson-12-the-1-in-60-rule-preflight/

For Your Journal

Find It:

In this portion of your journal, write out a Bible verse. You can find a verse that fits a current life situation or use the one we used in today’s devotion.

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” — Psalm 51:10

Fix It:

In this portion of your journal, pull out a few key words from the verse you chose above, or summarize the verse in your own words. Write it in pretty lettering or sketch something that will help you visualize the meaning of the verse and fix it in your mind. Repeat these words to yourself throughout the week to remind you of the truth contained in the scripture. Here are some options:

Renew a steadfast spirit in me…

Steady me

Feel It:

In this portion of your journal, write out a prayer. The goal is to absorb the meaning of the Bible passage and let it take root in your heart. Ask the Lord to let his word change you by the power of his Spirit so that you begin to feel like the new person you’re becoming in Christ. Surrender any areas of your life that you are trying to control.

Lord, I often feel the pull to drift off-course. Your word says that love, joy, peace and patience belong to me because I belong to you, but I drift toward acting in unloving, joyless, anxious and impatient ways. Help me to stand firm against temptation. Fill me with your Spirit and help me to respond to correction with humility. Straighten me out when I stray, keep my feet on the path you marked out for me, and give me a faithful heart and a steady spirit. Amen.