A resolve is not a mood…It has nothing to do with feeling comfortable. It is a decision of the will, carried out without regard to the emotions.
Elisabeth Elliot, Discipline
We don’t claim the desire to stand firm in our faith on a whim. It cannot be wished into existence. Instead, it requires an act of the will. I like how Elisabeth Elliott says, “without regard to the emotions.”
So much done in our world today finds a basis in emotions. We feel in love, so we get married. We feel unloved or underappreciated, so we get divorced. We feel slighted, so we cancel a person. And on it goes.
Resolve rises above all that. The strength required to live in obedience to Christ must be because the world will do its best to make us feel wrong, petty, different, stupid, and ignorant. Resolve enables us to swim against the tide of public opinion and societal norms.
The Bible talks about a person who showed resolve:
But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.
Daniel 1:8 NIV
Most young men would have been honored by the chance to serve in the king’s palace and have eaten anything put before them, but not Daniel and his friends. No, their faith would not allow it, and their resolve would enable them to stand firm, no matter the cost.
Standing up for Christ can put us in some uncomfortable positions. Have you ever been in such a place? How did your resolve hold up? If you fell short, it’s alright. God allows us to learn from our mistakes and try again.
The key: Ignore the emotions and ignore the comfort level. Press on in an act of resolve to God’s glory.