Ezekiel 14: 12 – 14 The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals, even if these three men –Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign Lord.’

Ezekiel encountered the Sovereign Lord who is declaring inescapable judgment for his people Israel and indicates that even if three men Noah, Daniel and Job were in the land, they could only save themselves. The Lord declares these three men as righteous. So I wanted to know what the common denominator was in the lives of these three men. As it turns out these were men who stood alone before God. They exhibited a quality called steadfastness. Noah was steadfast in the face of ridicule. Daniel was steadfast in the face of death and Job was steadfast in the face of extreme loss.

As war and mayhem spread around the globe today many believers are experiencing what it is to be steadfast in the face of all three – ridicule, death or extreme loss. This is the true test of faith in God. Let us pray for them constantly and for ourselves that this quality be formed in us. The Holy Spirit broke in on my meditation with the following:

“For behold standing alone before God does require steadfastness. It is that place that makes the child of God truly understand who God is. That he is able to sustain, defend and deliver his children so that onlookers can only marvel at the strength of your faith and absolute trust in God who is very much alive, present, caring and utterly trustworthy. Not only will he sustain, defend and deliver but he will reward, uplift and make you to rise to new heights and be an overcomer.”