A Good Word: Resolve

A word for today.

I’m working on the six words that drive my life.

I encourage you to write down your own list.

Why six? Because five is not enough, and seven seems too many.

Seriously, your list of words can be short or long.

I’ve already covered Compassion/Passion (I’m cheating and using them as one word.)

We also talked about Integrity.

My third word is Resolve.

It means to persevere.

No quit.

To keep on.

To hold fast.

As we say in the rural South, “To show grit.”

There are several uses of the word, but I love the definition that speaks of persistence and grit. Webster’s defines it as “to act with determination, boldness. To be steadfast and faithful.”

Resolve is a trait found in the lives of all great leaders and difference makers. It is that willingness to carry on no matter the cost. It is the fixed and focused intention to achieve a desired end/result.

Jesus had it.

I want to have it.

He can teach us how.

We see resolve in the life of Jesus. In the ninth chapter of Luke, Jesus has turned His face and feet toward Jerusalem even though he is currently in Northern Galilee. It is time for Him to begin His final journey to the cross.

As he begins this journey, the disciples believe they are going to a crowning… a coronation of the Messiah. But for Jesus Christ, it is a death march. He is moving toward the cross, not a kingly coronation. No golden crown is waiting – only a crown of thorns that will cut his head and draw blood.

So Luke 9:51 is a great verse to examine the resolve of my Jesus. It states: “As the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind and set out on his way to Jerusalem.” (NIV).

Listen to the same verse from The Message: “When it came close to time for his ascension, he gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey to Jerusalem.”

The NKJV says, “… He resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem.” I can see the jaw of Jesus clinched tightly. There is purpose in every step as He begins the journey southward. I can imagine His eyes taking on a deeper focus and intensity.

Jesus in now ready to do what He was born to do. He was born to die – to die for the sins of all mankind, including you and me.

When we need resolve and determination to take on a tough job… and to finish a difficult task, there is a place to turn for strength, understanding, and guidance.

We can turn to this same Jesus who set His jaw, gathered up His courage, made up His mind, and started the long, lonely journey to Jerusalem

He will give you the resolve you need. Ask Him. He is faithful.

Next word coming soon to this blog: Gratitude.