Abiding In Him...

God continues to pour out His faithfulness on me according to Philippians 1:6, which says, “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you WILL carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” That particular Scripture, among others, has been bringing a lot of encouragement to me lately. I can be encouraged that God is more committed to my future than I could ever be. You may ask, “What part do I play in this then?” Jesus declared in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” We all know that bearing fruit is an important part of our Christian walk, because Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruit.” Personally, I can allow myself to be overwhelmed when I constantly focus on bearing fruit. The reason I get overwhelmed is because bearing fruit shouldn’t be my focus. I have a promise: that if I abide in Him, He WILL abide in me, and I WILL bear much fruit. My main focus should always be my ministry to God. In Mark 12:28, a scribe asked Jesus, “What is the first commandment of all?” Jesus then responded, “The most important one is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Intimacy unto fruitfulness should be our goal, not the other way around. The “things” we do for God will never be able to replace the joy that is found in His presence. As we enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise (Psalm 100:4)--we are renewed, empowered, and filled with love and purpose. In this place, God allows us to see His empowering grace at work, which is slowly transforming us into His likeness. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18) This is what allows us to minister, to others, in love and power. It’s simple; if you want to learn to love, spend time with the One who created it. Some people may think that they can find love from another source, but as Heini Arnold writes, “As long as we think we can save ourselves by our own will power, we will only make the evil in us stronger than ever!” This may leave you asking, “Well, how do I abide?” The biblical definition of abiding from John 15:5 is: to wait for or to endure without yielding. It means that we can just receive His love that He is constantly pouring out. It means that we can just sit and enjoy God. The Lord is always looking to bless us with His love and His presence. When is the last time that you just sat and waited on God or you just told Him that you were there to listen? When is the last time that you asked Him to bless you with His presence? I don’t know about you, but this is good news to me. The God of the universe just wants me! The same God that spoke the world into existence just wants to hang out with me. And from that place, I WILL find intimacy with Him. From that place, I WILL know His heart; therefore, I WILL know how to pray. From that place, I WILL want to read His word, put it to memory, and obey it. From that place, I WILL be led into worship. And in that place, I WILL find the fullness of joy, and this gives me strength for everything else. (Nehemiah 8:10) As the secret place (Psalm 91) becomes your dwelling, you realize that Jesus is actually with you throughout your whole day. It’s not a TRUTH that you just read about anymore, it’s a reality that you walk in. Abiding has taught you to become constantly aware of His presence. This is how Jesus constantly knew what the Father was doing, and how He heard what He was saying. Throughout His life, He learned how to abide. I want to be about my Father’s business, just like Jesus was, and abiding in Him is the key! So I end this by declaring to you John 16:33, where Jesus encourages us by saying, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."