How Determined Am I?
I love words! They unlock meaning if you study them out.
A word recently blew up in my face. My eyes flowed over the word “determined” in a line of a story. I wondered, as I often do, what is the etymology of that word?
Well, it’s from two Latin words: De + terminare. De is a prefix attached to words to mean “off.” Like detach, debunk, or desist. Terminare means “to mark the end or boundary.” (Ironically, that word in Spanish means “I will finish.”)
In one sense, to be determined means you say, “There will be no end to my effort in this area.” Like I’ve taken off the limits (de+terminare) and said I’m never going to stop doing this - I’m determined. I’ve looked ahead, and, yep, the horizon will forever continue. I’m supplied with endless energy. When someone describes a determined person, they speak of the resolve. They say that at the very core, at the level of your character, you’re resolute. Given. Sold out. Determined.
That 2007 pic of the toddler on the beach in the green and white shirt just came to mind. (google “success kid”)
But what if you’re never feeling very determined? Or, if I start determined, determination seems to dwindle.
I say, “If I can just get through the next season, special service, string of Sundays, busy week…my life.”
What is the source of our resolve? What reason do we have to be determined?
Love & Intimacy
[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death… - Philippians 3:10 (AMPC)
By FAR, the most potent source of our determination is our intimacy with Jesus. Cultivating simple love and pure devotion to the Son of God is the foundation for any service. “That I may know Him” is where it begins and ends. It indeed is both the journey and the destination. In this conversation, you could say that intimacy is the boundary - and any pursuit outside of that is a distraction. Friends, let’s keep walking into that transformation!
A Nazarite spirit
But Daniel determined in his heart that he would not defile himself by [eating his portion of] the king’s rich and dainty food or by [drinking] the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might [be allowed] not to defile himself. - Daniel 1:8 (AMPC)
The Nazarite spirit is a voluntary vow to abstain from something to be given more fully to Someone else.
Early in my college years, I remember being in the upstairs bathroom at my parent’s house, looking out the small window. I had one of those thoughts that seemed to blow through my mind like a wind-carried leaf. “Don’t drink. It could open other doors that you’re not able to shut.” And I had this distinct impression that it wasn’t a sin for me to drink, but it wasn’t beneficial - like I didn’t know the limitations of my willpower. Over the years, I have occasionally enjoyed adult beverages and have never had any drinking issues. But I do know that for me, allowing myself to drink alcohol keeps me in a particular state of heart. So recently, I have decided to withhold.
Diligence & Wisdom
It seemed good and desirable to me, [and so I have determined] also after having searched out diligently and followed all things closely and traced accurately the course from the highest to the minutest detail from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus… - Luke 1:3 (AMPC)
Think it through. Do your research. Figure out what would keep you from being determined. Know in your gut why you’re doing something. Be as thorough as you can.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit
[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. - Philippians 2:13 (AMPC)
Now after these events Paul determined in the [Holy] Spirit that he would travel through Macedonia and Achaia (most of Greece) and go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must visit Rome also. - Acts 19:21 (AMPC)
I mean, thank GOD! We are undoubtedly frail, and our gas fizzles out all too quickly. But God? Hahahaha…never! He’s got more than you could EVER need. He’s so loaded with power and strength, He can carry you and carry you and carry you until and beyond forever. So LORD, “Open the wells of grace and salvation, pour the right streams deep into my heart….”
Faith
Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world. - 1 Peter 5:9 (AMPC)
Faith isn’t abstract. It’s as practical as a title deed. What does a title deed give you? Legal rights to the land. Like Joshua 1:3 (NIV), “I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.” Since our steps are ordered (can I say determined?) by the LORD, we should walk around like we own the place. (while humbling yourself on the regular) But faith in the promises of God gives us the confidence we need to possess our inheritance and deal with giants. And one of my favorite quotes from Dan Wilt is, “When a giant needed to be dealt with, God sent a musician.” Let’s go y’all!
And there’s no better way to stay determined to follow the Master than to do it together!
-Dave Helmuth
(purchase my book, “Worship Fertilizer: (the first hundred)” HERE)
How Determined Am I? (Nº 315)
