Determined is a character trait embedded in our Scriptures. It is not in aimless isolation of God’s purposes. It is not banging our heads against a brick wall to prove how macho we are -- how ridiculous that would be! Nor does it mean being pig headed. Pharaoh was certainly determined but only to the pathetic end of making his name great. His efforts simply led to a few crumbling remains of tombs on a small patch of desert on a planet which itself is a dot in the vast expanse of the universe. How sad to put in so much effort to no end! A fleeting shadow for one moment in eternity. Not so with those who hearts and minds are devoted to the eternal God who created everything.

To them (to us) there is a robust basis and purposeful objective that drives us. We are justified by faith in the Word of God. We have peace with God, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, we glory in our tribulations. We know in Whom we have believed, persuaded that He is able to keep what [we] have committed to Him. We are working towards an eternal weight of Glory. We haven’t yet attained the resurrection from the dead, but we press on forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward. We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the ground knowing that it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand.  How wonderful that we are not alone in our endeavours, with the Holy Spirit empowering us and a great crowd of witnesses cheering us on!